Workers at the British Museum have voted to take strike action over plans to cut 150 jobs as part of the museum's strategy to tackle a £5m shortfall in funds.
Eighty-five percent of the 750 staff balloted - members of the Public and Commercial Service union and Prospect - backed the action, which will begin on Monday June 17.
The museum expects to cut 15% of its staff after an estimated 30% fall in funding over the last 10 years.
Terry Adams, PCS national officer, said that his members did not want to see the museum closed through strike action, but that the current funding cuts were costing them their livelihoods and damaging the institution.
"National treasures will be hidden away from the public, galleries will be closed off and less school children will be educated in the British Museum if the government does not accept that world-class museums cannot be funded by gift shops and cafes alone," he warned.
Alan Leighton, Prospect national officer, said: "The museum's expert staff are vital to its credibility as a seat of scholarship and research. These cuts will fundamentally damage its ability to meet government objectives."
Andrew Hamilton, a spokesman for the museum, said: "We regret that strike action is thought necessary and we particularly regret the inconvenience to the public. Every effort possible will be made to keep compulsory redundancies to a minimum."
