Tuesday 31 December 2013

Statement from Lambeth Unison.

Lambeth Libraries Unison members have been in dispute over redundancies since September 2013 (they have 90%+ unison membership and got a 100% yes vote for strike action on an indicative ballot) and recently finally ‘suspended’ their action passing the following motion:
UNISON members recognise that significant progress has been made in management's proposals for the Libraries and Archives Service, during the consultation period. In particular:
  • Retention of more capacity in the courier service
  • Retention of greater professional staffing, by protecting Librarian posts
  • Changes in Job Descriptions
  • No compulsory redundancies of UNISON members
We agree this provides a basis for the suspension of the current dispute.
Libraries in Lambeth have been underfunded for many years and we will continue to campaign and fight for a better library service for the borough. As part of this, we will support and campaign for the Lambeth Manifesto for Libraries calling on those standing in the 2014 Council Elections to make four commitments.
• A commitment to increase book stock to at least the average amount of books of other London authorities- Lambeth Libraries have only 50% of the average London borough book stock
• A commitment to increase staffing to at least the average amount of staff of other London authorities - Lambeth Libraries are proposing to reduce the staffing levels to the lowest in London
• A commitment to increase public IT access to at least the average amount of other London authorities -Lambeth Libraries have only 50% of the average London borough public IT provision
• A commitment to keep all nine public libraries open with no cuts to opening hours’
 
They have also launched the ‘Lambeth Manifesto for Libraries’ https://www.facebook.com/lambethmanifestoforlibraries?ref=hl

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