Library staff should be paid fairly, says union
Jamie Niblock/BBCA county's library staff needed to be paid "properly and fairly" after it emerged new starters were being given larger salaries, a union said.
Unison said new recruits at Suffolk County Council's libraries could be paid as much as £6,000 more than existing staff.
The council took over control of the county's 45 libraries in June from charity Suffolk Libraries, with many staff's contracts being moved over.
The council said the disparities in pay had arisen due to differences in terms and conditions and frameworks between contracts.
Unison said it had reviewed the library service's job posts, and two weeks ago, a library manager job in Halesworth had been advertised at £34,434 a year.
The union said this was £6,000 more than their equivalents already in post.
Disparities had caused anger among staff and Unison said there was further ill feeling over fears of job losses from restructuring of the libraries' central services.
UNISON Eastern regional organiser Winston Dorsett described it as a "ridiculous situation".
"The council must act quickly to show staff they're valued. It's time to fix the glitch and rule out job losses," he added.
Suffolk LibrariesA council spokesperson said it recognised the differences in pay and its priority was to "keep libraries open and ensure services remain strong".
"These disparities have arisen because employees who transferred did so under the Transfer of Undertakings Regulations, while any new starters must commence on local government terms and conditions," they explained.
The Transfer of Undertakings protect employees' rights when the business they work for is transferred to a new owner or service provider.
"As a responsible employer, we are required to employ new staff on our current pay framework, but we understand the frustration this situation has caused," the council added.
"We are actively looking into the issue to explore options, while remaining within the legal and financial frameworks we must follow."
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