Saskatoon Public Library workers have issued a strike notice for Tuesday if an agreement is not reached.
The workers are asking the employer to come to the table with a deal offering a wage increase to keep up with the costs of inflation and to address the growing safety concerns at the Saskatoon Public Library.
“Library workers are looking for wage increases to keep pace with those cost increases, but also specific measures to make libraries safer,” said Katherine Norton, CUPE communications representative.
“And while there has been a lot of back and forth, the workers at these libraries don’t feel like the employer has gone far enough, and they feel like the rise in violent incidents in the libraries has not been met with the same level of increased protections to keep library workers as well as library patrons safe.”
CUPE added that a strike is not what the workers want to do; they would like to continue to serve the community, but would like to do so safely.
“Library workers serve their communities with pride. Like, they do not want to be in this position. They want to get back to work serving patrons, caring for their communities,” Norton said. “And it’s in everybody’s best interest to find a deal that keeps patrons and library workers safe. And we hope the employer gets back to the table so that libraries can continue operating the way they should be.”
The Saskatoon Public Library (SPL) issued a statement saying libraries will be closed on Nov. 12 and will reopen the following day.
It added that “ongoing job action could take many forms.”
“Since CUPE 2669 is not required to inform SPL of the specific nature of the job action, we may be unable to give advance notice to patrons if library services are disrupted. As a result, we kindly request all library patrons to check the status of services before visiting an SPL location,” the SPL said.
The Saskatoon Public Library said it is disappointed that the union members rejected the agreement they were offered at the end of September and said it has filed a reciprocal lockout notice.
“This does not mean that we will be locking out employees at this time, only that it may be necessary if sustaining library service through job action is not possible,” it said.
It said it remains committed and looks forward to reaching a final agreement.