Security guards at several of London’s major museums have urged people to stay away during the upcoming strike action. Around 100 members of the United Voices of the World (UVW) union, employed at the Science Museum, Natural History Museum, and the V&A Museum, will stage a walkout throughout February as part of their ongoing campaign for improved pay and working conditions.
![[Science Museum London]](https://static.standard.co.uk/2021/11/19/16/PA-20879878.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&width=960)
The UVW described the strike action as “unprecedented” and “the longest strike in the history of all three institutions”. Workers, who are outsourced to private security contractor Wilson James, are demanding a pay increase, improved sick pay, and full parity with directly employed museum staff.
Their requests include additional annual leave, an annual bonus, and other benefits that would align their terms with those of permanent museum employees. Now, the union has called on the public to show solidarity with its members by refraining from visiting the museums during the strike.
Bayo Owolawbi, a security guard at the Science Museum and UVW representative said: “We have been ignored and treated with utter disdain for too long. “We have been undermined but we do not undermine ourselves. We are strong, united and we will work hard to get justice.”.
