{"id":11821,"date":"2017-03-17T14:45:23","date_gmt":"2017-03-17T14:45:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/unitelive.org\/?p=11821"},"modified":"2017-03-17T14:45:23","modified_gmt":"2017-03-17T14:45:23","slug":"save-bromley-libraries","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/?p=11821","title":{"rendered":"Save Bromley libraries"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"fb-root\"><\/div>\n<p>The Bromley public has been asked \u00e2\u20ac\u0098to rise up and make their voice heard\u00e2\u20ac\u2122, otherwise the borough\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s 14 libraries will be privatised, with expected severe cutbacks in services.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The call to rollback the tide of local government privatisation has come from Unite, which is battling to keep Bromley\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s libraries, serving a 300,000-strong population, being run by the council.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>So far, Unite\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s campaign has seen construction firm Carillion and a scheme run by volunteers withdraw from the bidding process, leaving only one private bidder with its hat in the ring. Unite understands that is Greenwich Leisure Limited.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>To give the campaign added impetus, Unite\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s library members, who number about 60, will be striking for a week from just past midnight\u00c2\u00a0on Saturday, April 1 until 11.59pm on Saturday, April 8.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The union is also organising a petition to collect the more than 500 signatures needed to force the council to debate the issue.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u015bWe have notched up a couple of victories with the withdrawal of Carillion and the voluntary scheme, but the battle is not over by a long chalk,&#8221; said Unite regional officer Onay Kasab.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThe council refuses to say who is the remaining bidder, but we understand that it is Greenwich Leisure Limited. This lack of transparency demonstrated by the Tory-controlled authority is an affront to local democracy.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThe council says that it will be making a decision on the library service\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s future sometime in May. Unite\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s firm view is that libraries are for the benefit of the public and should not be considered as a ripe source of profit for the private sector.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u015bBromley\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s libraries should remain \u00e2\u20ac\u0098in house\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 and to ensure that happens the public need to rise up and make their voice heard,&#8221; he added.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u015bWe are entering a really surreal world when bricks-and-mortar construction firms are seen as suitable candidates to radiate the deep learning, through book-reading and interactive activities, that is the remit of modern libraries.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<br \/>\n\u00e2\u20ac\u015bBromley\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s libraries are well used by people from all walks of life right across the borough. They are an essential point of social contact which provide learning and enjoyment for all generations.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Bromley public has been asked \u00e2\u20ac\u0098to rise up and make their voice heard\u00e2\u20ac\u2122, otherwise the borough\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s 14 libraries will be privatised, with expected severe cutbacks in services. &nbsp; The call to rollback the tide of local government privatisation has come from Unite, which is battling to keep Bromley\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s libraries, serving a 300,000-strong population, being [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1838,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[277,148,571],"wps_subtitle":"Campaign ramps up with week-long strike","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11821"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=11821"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11821\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11822,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11821\/revisions\/11822"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1838"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=11821"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=11821"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=11821"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}