Vote yes in the National Museums Liverpool strike ballot

PCS members at National Museums Liverpool (NML) are being balloted for strike action until 31 January as the employer has not yet paid staff a £1,500 one-off cost-of-living payment.

NML is the only employer out of over 200 covered by the civil service pay remit guidance to withhold this cost-of-living payment.

The £1,500 payment, which the government was forced to make as part of the pay offer for 2022/23, came as a result of this national campaign, which also doubled the original 2023/24 pay offer to at least 4.5%.

But NML is yet to pay the £1,500 payment to its staff, who are among the lowest paid workers in the civil service and public sector and have been at the sharp end of the cost-of living crisis.

PCS is balloting all members until 31 January on their willingness to take further targeted action. And we want all members to vote yes to secure this essential payment to all staff.

Our members at NML deserve the same pay rise as their colleagues across the UK and, as they vividly demonstrated in 2023, will not shy away from taking action if their bosses don’t do the decent thing and pay up.

Throughout 2023, many employers, including the Welsh National Library and Museums and the British Museum, threatened to withhold this payment, but quickly changed their minds after strike action was threatened.

Full strike pay

NML is entitled to withhold members’ pay for each day that they take part in strike action. But in the event that strike action is called, strike pay will be paid to members by PCS at the normal full net rate of pay.

Members will be able to claim strike pay through a two-stage, automated online process.  

They can claim £50 per day of strike action at the point that they take the action. They can then submit a claim to PCS for the remainder of net earnings loss to be paid.  

The process has been designed to pay members strike pay at the earliest possible opportunity.

If they are in receipt of universal credit, members on strike would receive a basic benefit. But if income drops because of joining a strike, universal credit would not increase.  

However, members would not suffer a detriment because of the strike pay entitlement described above.

If you haven’t received your ballot paper yet, you can also request a replacement. 

You must request the replacement online by noon on 19 January by logging into your PCS Digital account. If you have any difficulties, please contact your PCS branch representative.

Reps and members can read more on the ballot and how to make the strike pay claim on PCS Knowledge.