“Members are demanding an inflation-proof pay rise and restoration for last year’s below-inflation pay award.”
From the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS)
Over 300 PCS members working at the British Library will strike from Monday 8 to Friday 12 December 2025 in their ongoing dispute over pay.
The members took two weeks of strike action in October and November.
During the strike, the Library’s CEO, Rebecca Lawrence, unexpectedly left only ten months into her tenure. The absence of stable leadership has undermined staff confidence and the Library’s reputation as a world-class cultural institution. Alongside low pay and the change in management, members also face the ongoing aftermath of a cyber-attack in 2023 in which personal details were published on the dark web.
Members’ workloads have more than doubled through additional responsibilities and are made harder through increased abuse from service users, with inadequate support from management.
Since the previous strike, PCS has met with the interim CEO, Jeremy Silver, and received a revised pay offer, which was unanimously rejected by members as inadequate. Members are demanding an inflation-proof pay rise and restoration for last year’s below-inflation pay award.
The first period of strike action in October and November was well supported by members, the public, MPs and also by authors and artists who refused to cross the picket lines, leading to the cancellation of events.
PCS general secretary Fran Heathcote said: “By meeting our members’ simple and fair demands, leadership at 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 its staff. And they must focus budgets accordingly – on the poorest paid who are least rewarded.”
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- This was originally published on the PCS website on 2 December 2025.
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