British Library workers vote to strike

Over 300 Public and Commercial Services union (PCS) members who work at the British Library in the Prime Minister’s constituency of St Holborn and St Pancras will walk out from 27 October to 9 November. 

They voted 98.23% in favour of industrial action on a turnout of 75.17%.

Their key demand is for an inflation-proof pay rise with restoration, after a second consecutive year of a real-terms pay cut. In a recent survey of British Library members, PCS found that most struggle each month to make ends meet.

While the British Library initially proposed a pay award of 2%, with some receiving as little as 1.6%, they have since increased the offer to 2.4%.

The employer has also reneged on plans to offer £5,000 in annual bonuses to directors after PCS went public about a proposed restructure which would have seen the director team double and left workers languishing on a below-inflation pay award.

The strike dates will coincide with the two-year anniversary of a cyber-attack where staff members’ personal data was leaked on to the dark web, as well as the opening of a major new exhibition, ‘Secret Maps’.

PCS general secretary Fran Heathcote said: “A near unanimous vote for strike action is just a small glimpse into the strength of feeling among our members at the British Library.

“They are livid at yet another insulting pay offer that does little to alleviate the health problems that many suffer from because of low pay. Nor does it come close to ending the need for many to work second jobs and take out loans to pay their bills and meet their housing costs.

“The employer's well-paid executives need to take the blinkers off and understand that our hard-working members are what makes the British Library the vital cultural institution that it is."