News / Politics
All Bristol libraries to close during strike
Every library in Bristol will be closed on Thursday as assistants go on strike over changes to their working conditions.
Shift patterns have been changed for the 95 members of staff at the council’s libraries after a review recommended that opening hours should be shortened during the week and extended to Saturdays. The review also saw Eastville Library close.
Unison claims that the assistants were not consulted about the closures and do not want to work fewer hours over more days of the week.
The council said that the union were asking for shifts which do not fit in with how the public want to use the libraries. It added that Bristol has the highest number of libraries per head in the country.
Kate Murray, head of libraries, said: “As we will not reliably know who is striking and who isn’t before the day, we have decided to close all libraries so we can be very clear with the public, minimise any potential confusion and enable people to manage their plans around a firm closure.
“The council understands that this is a difficult situation and a significant change for staff, and we don’t underestimate the impacts on individuals.
“We have actively sought to protect the jobs of our permanent staff, and to prioritise their preferences and we have spent the past 10 weeks talking to all staff to make this possible.”
Library Assistants are paid between £9.18 and £10.23 an hour and are the second highest paid assistants in the five surrounding authorities, Bristol City Council added.
Fred Jerrome, a spokesperson for Unison, told Bristol24/7: “ Our library assistants and our members are committed to an effective library service but they cant do that if they are overstretched and overworked.
“We are very determined to resolve the dispute, but we have had no movement from the council in our meetings so far. We look forward to finding a solution after Thursday’s action.”
Read more: All libraries saved – except Eastville
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