The Queen’s staff will take industrial action for the first time in history over their ‘ridiculously low’ wages. Wardens at Windsor Castle say they are expected to carry out extra duties, including giving guided tours to visitors, for no extra money. Union chiefs claim workers earn as little as £14,700 despite working the ‘country’s richest family’. Wardens at Windsor Castle (pictured here collecting flowers laid by well-wishers following the death of The Queen Mother) have voted for industrial action in a dispute over pay . Their main role includes meeting and greeting visitors, conducting security searches, telling people about the history of the Castle, and handing out free audio guides. But The Public and Commercial Services union (PCS) said staff are also asked to perform extra duties for free, such as leading paid-for tours, carrying out first aid and speaking foreign languages to overseas visitors. Now, staff have voted ‘overwhelmingly’ in favour of industrial action after complaining they have suffered ‘years of pay restraint’. The PCS said 76 wardens out of 180 at the Castle will now refuse to host tours of the Great Kitchen and the Tower and will instead ‘work to rule – meaning they rigidly stick to their contractual obligations. The Public and Commercial Services Union said the Queen and Royal Family (pictured at the Castle) should not 'abuse the (workers') goodwill by not properly rewarding them' Wardens are also considering causing ‘disruption’ and ‘long queues’ by conducting more thorough security searches than usual and ‘observing every single check they are supposed to do’ – slowing down visitors’ entry to the Castle. The wardens work for the Royal Collection Trust, a charity which presides over one of the world’s largest and most important works of art, jewels and artefacts. It is held in trust by the sovereign on behalf of the nation, so they are technically employees of the Royal Household. A spokesman for the PCS said: ‘The dispute here is not with the Queen and the Royal Family but the managers who run the Castle on their behalf. ‘The wardens who work at Windsor Castle are very loyal and want to work for the Royal Family. ‘We believe our requests are modest and reasonable and, by not resolving this dispute, the Royal Collection is dragging the Queen’s name into this. That is not what staff want.’ Staff claim they receive poor salaries and perform extra duties such as guiding visitors around Windsor Castle for no additional money . The union has proposed that wardens receive an extra £150 a year for speaking a foreign language to visitors and an allowance for every day they conduct tours. They claimed that at nearby Hampton Court Palace, owned by a separate charity, wardens received an extra £10 to £15 a day for leading guided tours and that Windsor Castle staff should also receive ‘fair recompense’. The union said they narrowly accepted a poor pay offer last year on the understanding that additional allowances for tours and other skills would be considered this year. But following failed negotiations, non-strike industrial action could now start from the end of April. A Royal Collection Trust spokesman said: ‘Following the union ballot, we have been informed that some PCS-affiliated wardens at Windsor Castle will no longer participate in various activities undertaken during their working day, including using their language and first-aid skills, and conducting tours of specific areas of the castle during August and September. A spokesman for the Royal Collection Trust, which employee the wardens at one of the official residences of the Queen said they were 'disappointed' with the result of the ballot . ‘These activities have never been compulsory. It has always been the choice of the individual as to whether they take part. ‘While the outcome of the ballot is disappointing, it will have no effect on services to visitors to the castle.’ The Royal Collection said that only nine wardens were required to conduct tours every day out of an average of 85 wardens in work, and that the industrial action should have ‘no impact’ on visitors. Asked about the threat of slower security searches, a spokeswoman said: ‘Security searches at Windsor Castle are rigorous and we would expect staff to carry out their usual duties.’ Staff’s wages were raised to the new ‘living wage’, which is above the National minimum wage, earlier this month. This increased wardens’ pay from £7.70 an hour (£14,400 a year) to £7.85 an hour (£14,700). But the PCS complained that the living wage officially rose last November and that this wage hike should therefore be back-dated – a condition the Royal Collection has now agreed to.
Members of the royal household have voted for work to rule in pay row.
Wardens claim they're asked to perform extra duty for no extra money.
Staff complained they're being paid far below the 'living wage' they deserve.
Royal Collection Trust called the vote for industrial action 'disappointing'