The British Library has warned visitors to expect “significant disruption” and partial closures next week (8-12 December) as staff strike over pay disputes.
More than 300 workers who are members of the Public and Commercial Services union (PCS) will walk out for the second time in recent months, following an 11-day strike in October and November. A revised pay offer was unanimously rejected as “inadequate” by union members on 19 November.
The union says British Library staff face “increased poverty and debt, with a concurrent rise in health issues” and is demanding “an inflation-proof pay rise and restoration for last year’s sub-inflation pay award”.
Referencing pay graded at the library, a PCS spokesperson told The Art Newspaper: “The 3% pay offer this year does not address the severe pay compression that continues to reduce any gap between Grades D and C. Further, it fails to address central demands on pay restoration for last year’s shortfall, or an immediate end to the non-payment of Alternative Working Patterns (AWP) for security staff in reading rooms on a four-day week working pattern.”
A British Library spokesperson tells The Art Newspaper: “We have been working closely with trade union colleagues in the hope of reaching a successful resolution to this pay dispute. In addition to raising the pay offer to ensure all members of staff receive a minimum pay uplift of 3.8%, with those in receipt of the living wage receiving nearer to 7%, we accepted a further request from the trade unions to address pay compression.
With a combined increase to the library’s pay bill of 4.7%, our pay offer now exceeds that likely to be paid by other government bodies in line with the civil service pay remit which allows for average pay increases of 3.25% and with an additional 0.5% flexibility for targeted issues like low pay.”
According to PCS, the British Library has cited various financial pressures including the sub-inflation government funding, which reflects a 1.4% cut to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport in the latest spending review. “Yet executives take home salaries ranging between £80,000 and £170,000 with £15,000 and £10,000 bonuses in 2023/24 for the then chief executive and his deputy,” a PCS spokesperson says.
The union also highlights concerns around leadership, noting the British Library’s lack of a chief librarian and the recent departure of chief executive officer Rebecca Lawrence after only ten months in the role. “The absence of stable leadership has undermined staff confidence and the library’s reputation as a world-class cultural institution,” a PCS spokesperson says.
PCS adds that since a cyber-attack in 2023, in which personal details of members were published on the dark web, the workloads of staff “have more than doubled through additional responsibilities, and are made harder through increased abuse from service users, with inadequate support from management”.
During the strike period, the collection of items from the British Library will be suspended and the launch of the new online catalogue for searching and reserving works in the collection will be delayed. “We anticipate significant disruption to our Reading Room services and may need to close all our Reading Rooms during the strike period,” a statement on the library’s website says, noting that some tours and events will be cancelled.
Its ongoing exhibitions, including Secret Maps and Story Explorers (both until 18 January) are still scheduled to open but “there is a chance that there may be disruption at short notice”, the statement warns. The public are advised to check the website before visiting.
Meanwhile, more than 150 PCS members from Tate have just completed a week-long strike (26 November – 2 December) in London and Liverpool, also in dispute over pay. A PCS source told The Art Newspaper that workers at Tate galleries across the country are living in in-work poverty and experiencing anxiety regarding the future of their positions. The union is yet to announce any result of its industrial action at Tate.
