""By meeting our members' simple and fair demands, leadership at the British Library can restore trust from its staff and send a clear message to Government about the need to properly fund the UK's vibrant but imperilled culture sector. "We call on managers to rally and protect the institution they believe in. "They must acknowledge the hard work and dedication of their staff, and they must focus budgets accordingly - on the poorest paid who are least rewarded.""
"The latest strike announcement comes after an extremely challenging few months for the London institution. Last month, the British Library announced the departure of its chief executive Rebecca Lawrence less than a year after she started her tenure. The former chief executive of the Crown Prosecution Service had joined the institution in January 2025. The announcement came midway through a two-week strike over pay. Her role is being filled in an interim basis by board member Jeremy Silver."
More than 300 members of the Public and Commercial Services Union will walk out from December 8–12 in a dispute over low pay and increasing workloads. The dispute emphasizes demands for budgets to prioritise the lowest-paid staff and for better funding of the culture sector. Recent institutional turbulence includes the departure of chief executive Rebecca Lawrence less than a year into her tenure, with board member Jeremy Silver acting as interim. The library continues to suffer disruption from a 2023 cyber attack that shut down digital systems and exposed staff details on the dark web. The British Library houses 170 million items, including major historic works.
Read at www.standard.co.uk
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