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Months after the Tate Museums in England cut 7% of their workforce, citing a post-pandemic slump, workers have vowed to go on strike for a week starting November 26.
More than 150 workers at Tate Britain, Tate Modern, Tate Liverpool, and Tate St. Ives plan to strike over wages, citing “below-inflationary” pay raise offers over the last two years, a union spokesperson told Hyperallergic.
The striking staff members belong to Tate Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS Tate United), one of the three unions representing museum employees. In a ballot held on November 11, 98% of union staff members voted in favor of striking. The move comes after the museum cut a reported 40 jobs in March, attributing the downsizing to pandemic-related deficits. The strike is expected to end on December 2.
The union said in a press release that based on a recent survey, 72.2% of its members could not afford basic living costs with their salaries. The BBC reported this week that prices rose by 3.8% in the United Kingdom in 2025.
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A union spokesperson rebuked the museum’s 2% pay raise offer for 2024, which was later increased to 3% for 2025–2026. According to PCS Tate United, the pay raise offer “does not address ongoing issues of low pay at the institution.”
The union also said in a press release that the job cuts earlier this year led to the closure of a subsidized dining hall for staff.
“The dispute is primarily focused on pay, with the last two years seeing below-inflationary offers,” a union spokesperson told Hyperallergic in an email. “This is in addition to a sustained period of cutbacks and restructures, with a series of voluntary redundancies, the closure of the subsidised staff canteen and the redundancies of some of the canteen staff.”
In response to Hyperallergic‘s request for comment, a Tate spokesperson said directors at the museum were not offered salary increases this year as part of institutional attempts to maintain a “balanced budget,” and added that the offer of a 3% pay increase was accepted by Tate’s other two unions.
“Tate has made careful savings this year in order to invest in staff pay and still achieve a balanced budget,” the spokesperson said. “It is only by creating and maintaining a sustainable financial model that we can continue to invest in our staff in the long term.”
Workers previously went on strike in 2020, when the museum announced it intended to cut 313 jobs, or about half of its workforce.
“With many Tate directors receiving six-figure pay packages and five-figure bonuses while staff are condemned to in-work poverty, it is no wonder we have seen such an overwhelming vote for strike action,” PCS General Secretary Fran Heathcote said in a statement. “Our members have rightly rejected another insulting pay offer from senior Tate management, and now stand ready to take strike action that will severely impact gallery operations.”
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Become a member Tagged: Labor, Tate, Unions
Isa Farfan
Isa Farfan is a staff reporter for Hyperallergic. In May 2024, she graduated from Barnard College, where she studied Political Science and English and served as the Columbia Daily Spectator's Arts &... More by Isa Farfan
