Beefeaters strike at Tower of London for first time in 55 years over pensions row

Picket lines also appeared at Hampton Court Palace and Kensington Palace

People at the Tower of London on the picket line as staff from Historic Royal Palaces take industrial action over pay (PA)

Beefeaters at the Tower of London went on strike at the city’s famous landmark for the first time in 55 years in a dispute over pensions.

London’s famed yeoman warders, who are widely known as beefeaters, were joined by other staff at Hampton Court Palace and Kensington Palace during the three-hour walkout on Friday.

Workers appeared at the palaces with placards as part of the demonstration. But the three tourist attractions remained open during the strike.

Similar action is due to take place over the Christmas period and into the New Year by members of the Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union and GMB Union.

The unions have said changes to pensions made by Historic Royal Palaces (HRP) will leave staff “significantly worse off” in retirement.

The last time Beefeaters went on strike was 1963 when the Tower of London was closed as staff walked out over a pay claim of 25 shillings a week and a six-hour cut in their 48-hour week.

The yeoman warders, introduced in the 16th century, were responsible for guarding prisoners – but now their job is to safeguard the crown jewels and guide visitors around the tourist attractions.


 Yeoman Warders, commonly called Beefeaters, at the Tower of London (Reuters)
 (REUTERS)

Mark Serwotka, general secretary of PCS, said: “The unwarranted attack on our members’ pensions has forced them to vote for strike action.

“Our members are not paid a king’s ransom and the pension is one of the things that encourages people to stay in the job and deliver a first class service to the public.

“People who treasure these historic buildings in London should be left in no doubt that any disruption caused due to strike action will be solely down to HRP’s intransigence in not paying our members a decent pension.”

John Barnes, chief executive of Historic Royal Palaces, said the strike action would not change their decision to close the defined benefit scheme.

“We have already offered substantial compensation and transition arrangements to the 11 per cent of our staff who are affected during a lengthy consultation.

“The benefits they have already accrued will be fully protected, and they will be transferred onto the same competitive defined contribution scheme as the other 89 per cent of their colleagues in April 2019.

“The closure of the scheme enables us to increase employer contributions to pensions for everyone by 2 per cent – an offer that is fundamentally fairer to our entire workforce.”