Library roles cut ahead of new opening hours

Swanage Library is among those affected by the changes

Dorset Council's library workforce is being cut ahead of new opening hours which begin next month.

The authority is implementing its new library strategy - agreed last year - on 1 July.

It includes a reduced number of roles, from 161 to 135, and recruitment for the new positions is under way.

It is not yet known how many staff will take up jobs in the new service or how many might face redundancy.

UNISON, the union, said the consultation process had been "extremely stressful" for staff and "destroyed their morale".

Dorset branch secretary Becky Brookman said: "Library workers with caring responsibilities and transport difficulties are those hardest hit by the job losses.

"The council has failed to consider the impact on a workforce of mainly low-paid women, many of them part-time, who are devastated to lose the jobs they love."

Dorset Council said it regularly met with union representatives and responded to feedback raised by the workforce and union members.

It said 161 posts were directly affected, which equated to 83.86 full-time jobs. After the transformation there will be 135 new posts, equivalent to 91.70 full-time.

A spokesperson said: "We have increased the number of hours across support and front-line roles. However, this reflects a reduction of 26 posts."

Culture councillor Ryan Hope previously told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) that all employees "had the opportunity, and were actively encouraged and supported, to apply for permanent and newly revised roles".

"I have been given assurance that our libraries management and HR teams are supporting all individuals through this change," he said.

The new opening hours for Dorset's 23 libraries will come into effect on Monday 1 July.

Hundreds of people have signed a petition urging the council to reverse the changes in Swanage where Saturday opening hours will be cut from six and a half hours to three.

Dorset Council said the new timings were "based on community feedback and identified community needs" and the number of staffed hours across the library network would remain almost the same, totalling 630 hours instead of 631.