Holy crap, the Queen's staff could go on strike?

The Queen is facing the prospect of the first ever industrial action by members of the royal household.

More than 100 low-paid staff at Windsor Castle are due be balloted from Tuesday, the Public and Commercial Services union [PCS] said.

The announcement of the ballot came as the Queen was due to meet David Cameron before she formally dissolves parliament ahead of the election. A vote in favour would trigger members of the royal household taking industrial action just days before the general election.

The PCS claims staff have suffered years of pay restraint and are paid less than the living wage. PCS said new recruits at the castle start on as little as £14,400 a year.

The union, which represents 120 of the 200 staff at the castle, has proposed non-strike action that would involve the withdraw of goodwill, such as giving tours of the castle to paying visitors of the castle.

The dispute concerns the payment of allowances for additional duties. Last year, the staff accepted an “unsatisfactory pay offer” on the understanding that additional allowances for such duties would be considered this year. When these were refused the union opted to ballot staff on industrial action. The vote closes on 14 April.

If staff vote in favour, industrial action would start before the end of April in the week before the general election.

The PCS general secretary, Mark Serwotka, said: “These workers are loyal to their employer and absolutely committed to ensuring visitors are given the royal treatment.

It is scandalous that staff are so appallingly paid and expected to do work for free that brings in money for the royal family.”

A PCS spokesman said it was “coincidental” that the ballot was being held at the start of general election campaign. But he said the timing was “nonetheless welcome if it helps to put some added focus on how badly paid royal household staff are.”

Campaigners for an elected head of state accused the Queen of showing contempt for her staff. Graham Smith, chief executive of the Republic campaign, said:

“It is a failure of leadership on the part of the Queen that despite receiving close to £300m a year in public subsidy she continues to pay staff so badly.

“The Queen as head of state has a responsibility to set a higher standard, to lead by example. Paying hard working staff such low wages while expecting them to do so much more than their jobs demand shows an appalling contempt.”

Smith added: “It is typical of the royals that they continue to demand more money for themselves, spending millions on refurbishing their homes yet they exploit the goodwill of those ordinary hard working people that keep the palaces running.”

He also called on the royal family to hand over the running of their palaces to the government, to give staff “the opportunity to call to account those who are paying them” and give them “a greater chance of demanding a fair, living wage.”

The royal household has yet to respond to the forthcoming ballot and was unavailable for comment.

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