Overview
- Prospect members at Royal Museums Greenwich voted overwhelmingly to take discontinuous strike action on Tuesday 11 and Wednesday 12 August, with about 90% turnout and roughly 77% supporting strikes.
- Staff are pressing non-pay demands that include London Living Wage accreditation, paid breaks for security staff, stronger rules on fixed-term contracts, protected Christmas closure leave, and better training and development.
- Royal Museums Greenwich says it has implemented a two-year pay settlement for 2026/27–2027/28 after an ACAS conciliation meeting in July and describes the remaining dispute as a small number of non-pay issues under active discussion.
- The strikes overlap with a high-profile solar eclipse event at the Royal Observatory on 12 August, raising the risk of visitor disruption to on-site viewing and an online livestream despite RMG saying it will keep sites open.
- Prospect frames the action as part of coordinated industrial pressure across the heritage sector, which could increase bargaining leverage for staff but also heighten short-term reputational and operational challenges for museums and their workers.