'Cautious welcome'

Members of Unite employed in Bradford council’s library and museum service, who took 14 days of strike action last year, have given a cautious welcome to the local authority’s commitment to find ‘additional’ money for the service.

 

The strike action was taken as a result of the council proposing to cut the service’s budget by 65 per cent.

 

Under the council’s proposals £420,000 will be redirected from estates to pay for the city library, £700,000 will be transferred from the public health budget to pay for libraries and an additional £500,000 for the museum service.

 

Unite is now seeking an urgent meeting with the council about what the “new funding” will exactly mean for the service.

 

“This is a positive step and Unite has given Bradford council’s renewed commitment to the library and museum service a cautious welcome,” said Unite regional officer Mark Martin.

 

“Unite is now seeking an urgent meeting with the council to hammer out how the additional funding will be applied and what this will exactly mean for the library and museum service in the future,” he added.

 

“Special tribute needs to be paid to the Unite members who stood together to take strike action and who by being united was critical in helping to force Bradford council to rethink the swingeing cuts planned for the library and museum service.

 

“The campaign also received significant support from the community and the general public and without their support the campaign would have had a very different outcome.”