Workers stand outside the British Museum protesting. The photo shows around 30 people, holding signs and banners

Picket line outside the British Museum on Sunday

Photo: PCS Culture Group

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Strike forces British Museum to close for three days

Staff members take part in week-long strike action organised by their union, as they call for a 10% pay rise in light of the rising cost of living.

Chris Sharratt
3 min read

The British Museum closed for three days last week as staff members took part in strike action lasting seven days.

Around 100 members of the Public and Commercial Services (PCS) Union, who belong to the museum’s visitor services and security teams, took part in the strike action from 13 to 19 February.

Considerable disruption was caused to the running of the museum throughout the week, with the museum taking the decision to close fully on Friday 17, Saturday 18 and Sunday 19 February. 

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Earlier in the week, entry was limited to British Museum members or those who had pre-booked tickets. Many of the museum’s front of house services were closed and there was reduced access to galleries.

The museum also cancelled its programme of free half-term events and activities "to avoid last minute disappointment for visitors".

Last week's strike action followed a day of industrial action on 1 February, which saw staff from some of the UK’s largest museum and heritage organisations strike and also caused the British Museum to close.

Humza Asif, a Visitor and Safety Assistant at the British Museum and Co-Chair of its PCS Branch, took part in last week's strikes and told Arts Professional staff took action "to show the museum how vital they are to the day-to-day operations and running of the museum, as evidenced by the museum closures".

"We were lucky to have the support of PCS, members of other unions who came in solidarity, and MPs John McDonnell and Jeremy Corbyn," Asif added.

"We hope this strike demonstrates how important our team is to the efficient running of the museum and as such it is not an unreasonable request that our pay reflect the services that we provide which is especially crucial during this cost-of-living crisis."

Pay dispute

Asif said British Museum staff went on strike to highlight and urge the museum to meet the requests of its members for a 10% pay rise, improved job security and better redundancy terms.

"Unfortunately, the museum has not seen fit to meet our demands and continue to pay their front of house staff (visitor services and security) below London Living Wage," he added.

The British Museum has offered a pay rise of 4%.

PCS General Secretary Mark Serwotka said the British Museum was "choosing not to invest in their staff" and that the union had "invited the management to make a better pay offer".

"The management, disgracefully, are not doing that," he added.

Serwotka also said the museum was not bound by the government’s pay restrictions because it is "an independent institution” – a view disputed by the British Museum.

A spokesperson for the museum said PCS Union had balloted members "on matters related to terms and conditions which are beyond the museum's control" and that it was "subject to central government guidelines on pay".

They added "the majority of staff at the museum" had received consolidated increases to pay of between four and five per cent in the 2022/23 pay review.

In a statement prior to the strike, British Museum Director Hartwig Fischer said: "I am disappointed that the British Museum is being made a focal point for a dispute about wider public sector terms and conditions which are beyond its control".