UK

Regent’s Park gardeners go on strike in row over which Royal Park pays most

Joe Wright
Thu, 1 February 2024 

Gardeners for the Royal Parks last year claimed a top prize at the National Landscaping Awards - Tibor Bognar/The Image Bank RF

Award-winning gardeners have gone on strike in a row over pay discrepancies at London’s Royal Parks.

Regent’s Park garden staff began a 24-hour walkout on Thursday morning, claiming they are paid a “pittance” to look after the sprawling 410-acre site.

Known as the “jewel in the crown” of the eight Royal Parks, Regent’s boasts the capital’s largest collection of roses.

Members of GMB Union who work at the park said they earn a minimum of just £11.95 an hour, but said staff at other Royal Parks – such as Hyde Park and Green Park – are paid at least £13.03.

The 30-strong workforce at Regent’s Park are employed by private contractor Idverde on behalf of The Royal Parks charity, which oversees management of the so-called “lungs of London” beauty spots.

GMB claimed skilled gardeners – who last year won the top prize for excellence in grounds maintenance at the National Landscaping Awards – were leaving their roles as a result of the pay gap.

A spokesman said: “These highly skilled gardeners have won several awards for their work over the past few years.

“It’s a shame their employer Idverde and The Royal Parks do not recognise it and pay them a pittance – less than colleagues working in other parks.

“They maintain these grounds for the benefit of all Londoners, but they now face the ugly prospect of being priced out of their own city.”

Idverde, which manages ground maintenance payroll at seven of the eight Royal Parks, said it was “disappointed” by the strike action, but said it was in talks with employees and was “hopeful of a workable resolution”.

A spokesman said there may be variances in pay across the parks due to the nature of individual contracts, which may be decided at different times of the year, as well as differences in skills which could also affect remuneration.

Idverde has held the contract for Regent’s since 2014, and took on the running of six other parks in 2022.

The Royal Parks insisted all staff working on outsourced ground maintenance contracts are paid, at minimum, the London Living Wage, but conceded there may be some exceptions to this rule.

“Other than this, the terms and conditions of staff employed by those contractors are decided by their employers,” a spokesman said.

“The only exception to this is fixed-term apprentices, who are paid National Living Wage while studying for a Level 2 qualification.”

The London Living Wage is an hourly rate of pay. It was £11.95 but employers have to raise it by 10pc to £13.15 before May.

The Royal Parks said this uplift will be brought in before April at all of its parks.

Regent’s Park, which is home to London Zoo and a multi-award winning open air theatre, draws in more than eight million visitors a year. It is the third largest of the Royal Parks, behind Richmond and Bushy.

Gardeners are the latest workers to go on strike, following in the footsteps of train drivers, junior doctors, nurses and teachers to walkout over pay. They are expected to return to work on Friday.

The Royal Parks prides itself on tending to the “most famous collection of urban parks in the world”.

Proposals to build a new garden at Regent’s Park to “celebrate the life and service of the late Queen” are underway, with a planned 2026 opening on what would have been the late monarch’s 100th birthday in 2026.

Last year, The Holme, a 40-bed mansion in the heart of the park, was put on the market for £250m – putting it in the running to be Britain’s most expensive house sale of all time.