“Don’t take our jobs!” – Barnet UNISON writes to Voluntary Organisations
Don’t take our jobs
Barnet UNISON has sent the letter below to the following Voluntary Organisations who are bidding to take over our Libraries.
Dear Voluntary Organisation
I am writing to you on behalf of UNISON members working in Barnet Libraries. I have had the honour of representing this workforce for a long time and they have faced incredible adversity in terms of ongoing cuts to Library services in all that time. In spite of that, earlier this year they received a 97% customer satisfaction rating which I think demonstrates their high level of professionalism and their unquenching love for Libraries.
I understand that you and a number of voluntary organisations are bidding to run one of the four Partnership Libraries and this is why I am writing to you.
My request is a simple one.
Please do not bid.
I do not know if you are aware but currently 46% of Library staff are facing the sack. They are being sacked because the Council is relying on volunteers provided by you to take over four Libraries. My members have their own lives, families and caring responsibilities. They too need to work to live and they have worked hard to ensure they provide a high quality Barnet Library service.
If you are under the belief that the Council is unable to keep the Libraries open, and volunteers are the next best thing to at least keep them open, then please read on.
Below are the Agency/Consultancy figures for the last four years.
- £12,526,943
- £13,775,546
- £15,538,090
- £17,907,052
In the first two quarters of this financial year Barnet Council spent £9.3 million which, if it continues at this rate, will bring the total spend for this year to over £20 million on Consultants/Agency.
It is important you know that instead of spending money on front line Library services the Council spent almost £0.5 million on press officers.
Finally, it is hard to believe, but Barnet Council will have spent over £6 million on the project to destroy the Library service and made a donation of £500,000 to the RAF Museum for which it has no responsibility. The £6million is predicated on volunteers taking our members’ jobs and running four shell Libraries.
Anti-social behaviour
I do not believe your organisation is aware of the number of difficult and dangerous situations that Barnet library staff have to deal with. During the last 7 months Barnet UNISON has received 4 reports of physical assaults (2 on staff and 2 on members of the public) in Libraries. There were also 27 reports of aggressive behaviour and verbal abuse. The victims being equally divided amongst staff and public. Not all incidents are reported to UNISON so the real figures are likely to be higher.
Situations our colleagues have to deal with include preventing fights between members of the public, dealing with people under the influence of alcohol and drugs, library users viewing pornography on computers, Members of the public urinating and defecating on library furniture and floors, racial and homophobic abuse, and threats of sexual assault.
I want to be very clear that our members welcome the support of volunteers as a supplement to publically running the Library service. We welcome the commitment of volunteers to try to keep the Library Service open. However, the proposal by Barnet Council undermines the role of the ‘volunteer’ by using them to take our members’ jobs and effective close publicly funded Libraries.
This is why I am writing to you, to ask that your organisation does not pursue the partnership libraries proposals and instead joins with our members and supporters in the Save Barnet Libraries campaign to keep our Libraries fully funded and staffed by paid employees. I would welcome an opportunity to meet with representatives of your organisation to discuss the issues contained within this letter.
Yours sincerely
John Burgess
Branch Secretary
Barnet UNISON