Eight-month-long libraries strike ends

An eight-month-long strike by library workers has ended with their employer agreeing to many of their demands.

Bromley libraries' staff will get pay arrears, a new salary and staffing structure, and won't be forced to take redundancies, Unite union announced on Thursday.

Unite Regional Officer Onay Kasab said workers made "a magnificent stand in defence of the library service."

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"This has been one of the longest all out, indefinite strikes of recent times and serves as an example to workers across the country preparing to fight the latest onslaught of council cuts … . We have come away with an agreement which protects jobs and ensures that our members are paid what they are owed."

The libraries' owner, Greenwich Leisure Limited (GLL), said the agreement means it can now "start the process of restructuring to modernise the library offer" across 14 boroughs.