Library workers in Bromley are to take strike action over “low pay and shoddy working practices”, according to their union, Unite.
Bromley Central Library: yes, GLL has made it look like a swimming pool
Bromley operates 14 public libraries (more than in bigger borough Croydon), plus a volunteer-run mobile library service, all managed for the council by GLL, the swimming pool and leisure centre managers Greenwich Leisure Limited.
GLL runs Croydon’s leisure centres and at one point under Tory outsourcing plans, they were also being considered to operate Croydon’s libraries (certain members of the previous Croydon Conservative administration enjoyed very friendly terms with senior members of Bromley Council at the time).
GLL was handed a 10-year contract to run Bromley’s libraries in 2017, a move which saw Bromley’s libraries leave the London Libraries Consortium, ending cross-borrowing with other London boroughs.
More than 100 workers in Tory-controlled Bromley and in Greenwich council’s libraries, all employees of GLL, will walk out next Tuesday, March 26, for a day of protest in a demand for permanent jobs, immediate changes to unfair sick pay schemes and new minimum pay rate.
A ballot on strike action among Bromley’s library workers last year won 86% approval.
GLL is described by Unite as a “controversial social enterprise”.
The union says that they employ library workers on zero hours contracts and implement “policies that do not align with local government conditions”.
Unite’s Sharon Graham: GLL should be ‘ashamed’
The union said: “This then leads to a race to the bottom for outsourced workers. In both boroughs, pay awards would have been higher if staff were still in-house.”
Sharon Graham, Unite’s general secretary, said: “GLL is behaving appallingly, and our members won’t stand for it. There are severe injustices that come with zero hours contracts and a so-called social enterprise should be ashamed to use them. Our members are ready to fight for better pay and working conditions and we are right behind them.”
GLL refers to itself as a “staff-led organisation”. It elects staff to a representative board called a “society which makes all policy decisions. But only permanent employees hold full “society” status.
Out of 10,800 GLL staff – including those working in Croydon’s leisure centres and sports venues – 6,313 are on zero-hour contracts. GLL will not recognise trade unions and refuses to negotiate on pay.
Unite regional officer, Mary Summers, said: “We are taking action because staff are being treated like second-class citizens when it comes to pay and conditions. As well as low pay and poor conditions, most workers are excluded from decision-making by management at a staff-led organisation.
“Unite is standing with our members in tackling this shocking treatment. We have won before at GLL and we will win again.”
Read more: Sanderstead among four public libraries under threat of closure
Read more: ‘The council is dismantling our borough, service by service’
Read more: Consultants’ year-long study looks to close four public libraries
- If you have a news story about life in or around Croydon, or want to publicise your residents’ association or business, or if you have a local event to promote, please email us with full details at inside.croydon@btinternet.com
As featured on Google News Showcase
- Our comments section on every report provides all readers with an immediate “right of reply” on all our content. Our comments policy can be read by clicking here
Inside Croydon is a member of the Independent Community News Network
- Inside Croydon works together with the Bureau of Investigative Journalism, as well as BBC London News and ITV London
ROTTEN BOROUGH AWARDS: In January 2024, Croydon was named among the country’s rottenest boroughs for a SEVENTH successive year in the annual round-up of civic cock-ups in Private Eye magazine
