The workers of the public libraries of Barcelona, whose committee is made up of the Intersindical and the CGT, have agreed to an indefinite strike starting next May 26. The decision, approved without any votes against it at the last assembly, adds to the Saturday strike that the staff have maintained since April in Barcelona and in the provincial network of the Diputación. The librarians – the sector is mostly occupied by women – demand, among other measures, the reduction of the working day to 35 hours per week with a more balanced rotating shift and adherence to the new City Council agreement (they currently have the Diputación agreement). Montse Serra, delegate of the Intersindical, the majority union, stated: “We are far from reaching an agreement. In the partial strikes, we have mobilized and closed 37 of the 40 libraries.”
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The call will coincide with the weeks prior to the University Entrance Exams (PAU), a period of high attendance in public libraries. “We have never touched the Selectivity out of respect for the students but we are at a very critical moment,” Brea said. The organizers have been on partial strikes on Saturdays since March and have held seven negotiation meetings with the Library Consortium. According to data from an internal circular of the Consortium itself, the four strike days last month had an adherence of between 20% and 51% of the total called, depending on the date. Blanca Brea, auxiliary library technician who works itinerantly in 41 of Barcelona’s libraries and committee delegate on behalf of the CGT, assures: “The big problem is the distribution of time blocks. It is unfeasible to have any extra activity, take a course or maintain a routine. It’s like an emergency doctor but we don’t get paid as such.”
Among the main demands, the distribution of rotating shifts is one of the main ones, added to a request for improved financial recognition. “We have McDonald’s-type schedules: Monday to Sunday, changing every week and without the possibility of negotiation,” Brea comments. In addition, the staff, who do not receive any extra value foreseen in other public service offices such as Citizen Service Offices (OAC), have seen the system collapse in recent weeks due to the increase in requests for the library card certificate.
The document is considered one of the unofficial documents authorized during the extraordinary migrant regularization process. “We have seen huge lines at the Sant Pau Library with the demand for the card certificate or from migrants wanting to do it to be regularized, just in case another extraordinary regularization occurs,” Brea commented.
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The union representatives have assured that they will maintain “mobilizations in defense of a public and quality library service” and have described the sector as “invisible and precarious.” The library strike joins a context of tension in Catalan public services that, for months, has faced a proliferation of strikes also in the social services of the Catalan capital.
Sources from the Library Consortium have assured, on their part, that the collective bargaining process with the works committee “remains open” and maintains meetings and channels of dialogue. The body maintains that the talks seek to advance adherence to the working conditions of the Barcelona City Council, which contemplates, among other measures, the reduction of the working day to 35 hours per week and the civil servant status of the staff.
However, the current proposal offered, according to the unions, still involves rotating morning, afternoon, and weekend shifts, which “prevent personal and family reconciliation.” The Consortium defends that it is working on a new schedule proposal to standardize shifts according to the type of library and improve work-life balance. According to what they have communicated, the objective is “to reduce internal inequalities and especially strengthen small and medium libraries to balance work shifts.”
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