Staff at British Museum announce Easter strikes

Union workers at the British Museum have announced further strike dates over the Easter holidays, as part of widespread industrial action.

Thousands of members of the Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union will strike in April in a “significant escalation” of the ongoing dispute over pay, pensions, redundancy terms and job security.

Staff at the British Library will take two weeks of action, between 3 April and 16 April, while staff at the British Museum will strike for seven days from 6 April to 12 April.

The dates fall in the middle of the Easter holidays, when local families as well as thousands of tourists will be hoping to visit the museum, which attracts more than six million visitors annually.

The planned strike follows upheaval at the museum last month. More than 100 staff members staged a walkout on 1 February, resulting in the last-minute closure of the museum.

A further strike from 13 February to 19 February, during half term, resulted in the cancellation of scheduled activities and the disruption or closure of services including the box office and information desk.