British Library Revised Pay Offer Rejected

Members met yesterday (19) and unanimously rejected the revised pay offer. While the offer, received on 13 November, is in line with the Civil Service Pay Remit, it falls short of PCS members’ expectations. In negotiations with the employer, PCS has consistently called for:

• An above-inflation pay award
• Pay restoration for last year’s shortfall, and
• An end to non-payment of alternative working patterns (AWP) for security staff on a four-day week working pattern.

Despite months of negotiations, 14 consecutive days of strike action, and a meeting with the interim chief executive, Dr Jeremy Silver, the revised offer from the British Library does little to satisfy PCS’s core demands:

• There is no mention of pay restoration for last year’s shortfall when British Library workers were offered 3% compared to other public sector workers who received 5%
• There is no guarantee the library will stop withholding AWP payments from reading room security staff, and
• The commitment to paying the Living Wage (LW) only applies to 17% of staff, and was expressed long before strike action commenced, including in a meeting on 24 October.

Pay compression

Worse still, the new offer raises serious concerns about pay compression, particularly at grade C. Under the current proposal the gap between grades D and C would narrow to an estimated £1,400 while the gap between grades C and B would remain at £7,000.

While it is understandable that the British Library has found itself in a financially precarious position in the aftermath of the cyberattack on 28 October 2023, our members should not be made to suffer the consequences. Indeed, PCS members have dealt with a range of challenging situations following the incident, including:

• Having their personal data stolen and shared on the dark web
• Facing considerable hostility from members of the public frustrated by the temporary suspension of user services, and
• Spiralling workloads following widespread disruption to the library’s digital systems.

It’s no surprise then that at the members’ meeting, they voted unanimously to reject the revised offer. PCS has written to the British Library asking for further improvements to the pay award by no later than noon on Monday (24 November).

As always, PCS remains willing to work towards reaching a fair resolution. However, we will consider escalating the dispute if our demands are not met.