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Strike Shuts British Library Reading RoomsA union strike over pay increases closed British Library reading rooms July 29 and forced limited hours the following two days. The Public and Commercial Services union, which includes library assistants, called the walkout after the library refused to offer more than a 4% pay increase. In August 2001, union members accepted a 3.6% raise with the understanding that another would follow. PCS National Officer Terry Adams said the extra 0.4% offered since then—when the unions had asked for 6.5% total—is an insult, the Guardian newspaper reported July 30. Library officials pointed out that 4% was only the average raise, and that some of the lowest-paid staff received 5.6%. Further, the offer—which had already been accepted by two of the three unions that represent British Library staff—is more than double the increased cost of living and higher than average for public- and cultural-sector pay increases, officials said. “We value our staff and we believe that our offer is a good one,” said Andy Cook, human resources director for the library. The chief executive of the British Library received a 30% pay increase, Adams told the BBC. “Yet many of our members are unable to live on the wages they earn,” he said. Posted August 5, 2002. |
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