The staff of Barcelona's libraries will begin an indefinite daily strike on Tuesday, May 26. This measure coincides with the final stretch of preparation for the university entrance exams.
The call from the Works Council of the Consorci de Biblioteques de Barcelona leaves the facilities closed just before the exams. The selective tests are scheduled for June 9, 10 and 11. Students will thus lose their usual study spaces in the midst of an intensive review phase.
The conflict worsens before the selectivity
The mobilization is not new. The strike began on April 20 and has maintained punctual stoppages on key dates. The workers' assembly extended the interruptions on Saturdays, April 25 and May 2. Now it decides to maintain the indefinite stoppages also on Saturdays, May 9, 16, and 23.
Labor tension escalates at a critical moment for thousands of high school students. The total closure of facilities during the week before the exams causes direct harm to the most vulnerable users of the public service.
"Dignified working conditions to guarantee a quality service" - CGT and Intersindical, convening unions
The CGT and Intersindical unions lead the demands. They demand immediate improvements that they consider essential to sustain the quality of the library service. Sources from the committee indicate that there is a way out if the company accepts their demands.
Management opts for negotiation and staff expansion
The Barcelona Libraries Consortium maintains that the path of dialogue remains open. The institution is currently working on the implementation of the 35-hour work week. This change seeks to promote the work-life balance of the staff.
Furthermore, the consortium promotes the regularization of staff as a stabilization measure. Management highlights that the human team has grown significantly during the conflict. The staff has grown by more than 70 people since the start of the mobilization.
Faced with this escalation, workers will hold a unified demonstration in Barcelona on Saturday, May 9. The objective is to make their discontent visible and to pressure for a definitive agreement before the selectivity deadline.