Tate Gallery staff to vote on strike action

PCS members at the four Tate gallery sites will be balloted for strike action in a ballot that opens on Tuesday 14 October.

Over 130 PCS members working at Tate Britain, Tate Modern, Tate Liverpool and Tate St Ives, who are some of the lowest paid workers, have already indicated in a consultative ballot that they were prepared to take strike action over pay.

The Tate initially offered only a 2% pay increase for 2025/26. This has now been increased to 3% but is still lower than the Civil Service Pay Remit and does not address the issues of low pay at the institution.

Staff have already undergone a restructure this year (the second since 2020) which saw redundancies across the whole organisation, as well as the closure of staff canteens at Tate Britain and Tate Modern, which included subsidised meals for staff, and the withdrawal of access to the Civil Service Pension Scheme for new starters, replacing it with a plan offering significantly weaker terms.

The postal ballot for strike action closes on 11 November at noon.

Culture group president Hannah David said: "Tate staff have shown incredible dedication in keeping Tate’s doors open, welcoming visitors, and caring for the nation’s art, at this internationally eminent gallery. Despite this, they have been subject to years of cuts, downgraded pensions, and below-inflation pay offers which have left workers struggling day-to-day.

"Meanwhile, senior leaders continue to reward themselves handsomely, taking home total remuneration packages ranging from £195,000 to £320,000. This cannot continue. This ballot is a necessary step in showing senior management that Tate workers will no longer tolerate being treated as dispensable."

If members have any questions about the ballot or the pay campaign, please contact group secretary Hareem Ghani at [email protected]

Follow the PCS Tate Gallery branch on Instagram at @Tate_United