Only 4 of the 37 Barcelonian libraries have opened their doors on the strike day
The workers' protests started more than three months ago and during this time 70% of the facilities have been kept open
BarcelonaThe works council of the Barcelona Libraries Consortium made a call this Tuesday, in front of the Sagrada Família, to all staff to massively support the strike, which has been active since the end of May. About fifty workers participated in the rally, but their request had an immediate and notable impact, as only 4 out of 37 libraries opened their doors. "There has been a 60% follow-up from the staff who were supposed to work the morning shift compared to 40% of the staff who are working behind closed doors," explained Ferran Burguillos, manager of the Libraries Consortium.
Pau Solsona, delegate of the CGT and the works council of the Barcelona Libraries Consortium, assured that the strike continues because they have not seen any steps from the Barcelona City Council or any rapprochement and criticized their "immobility" and accused them of following a "wear-and-tear tactic".
Burguillos, for his part, explains that the City Council's proposal "has progressed during negotiations held in thirteen meetings". Among the "improvements" they have presented, there is "the application of the 35-hour work week for the 482 jobs in the entire Barcelona Libraries Consortium". Burguillos added that currently "the 35 hours only apply to the group of technical library staff, and, on the other hand, all other groups are at 37 and a half hours". The second improvement, which is also linked to the municipal agreement, is the "absolute and total regularization" of all staff of the Barcelona Libraries Consortium within the framework of the City Council. Now, indicated the manager of the Consortium, the majority of staff, 98%, are employed staff. He explained that this also implies that the groups of technical librarians to whom the agreement of the Diputació de Barcelona currently applies will also move to the municipal agreement. Burguillos also recalled that with the integration of all technical library staff in management into the municipal agreement, there will be "an 8% pay increase, which places workers at an average of 42,866 euros, plus all seniority bonuses or holiday supplements".
The continuity of the strike will be decided in an assembly
Pau Solsona has highlighted that the protest aims to give visibility to the situation of Barcelona's libraries, which are "in a moment of conflict and which has not changed during the summer." "We have not advanced at all —he added—, and we want to make our discontent visible." He indicated that they are protesting symbolically in front of the Sagrada Família to "denounce the prioritization of tourism over public services.
Solsona recalled that the indefinite strike began on May 26, and this Tuesday they have called on all staff to support it massively and to close as many libraries as possible. For the moment, the company committee does not have data regarding the follow-up.
Among the red lines of the negotiation are "a matter of schedules and work-life balance" and he criticized that the City Council does not want to move away from their proposal to agree on "a weekly workday of eleven daily hours," which they, he assured, will not accept. Afterwards, he added, there continues to be "a matter of remuneration and equalization with respect to other sectors of the City Council".
The next steps that Barcelona library workers must take will be decided at an assembly to be held on September 14. The Library Consortium recalls that "ordinary activity in libraries since the start of the strike has been maintained with 70% of the facilities open," and that regarding workers, "10% have gone on strike during the week and 16% on weekends".
