26 February 2026
PCS members getting their message over at the British Library, 4 November 2025. Photo Workers.
The six-month industrial dispute at the British Library has formally concluded. PCS members have voted decisively to accept the enhanced pay offer recommended by their branch executive committee.
This settlement comes after a period of strongly supported strike action last year, reported in Workers.
Substantial
The revised offer still falls short of PCS’s national pay claim, but it represents a substantial improvement on the Library’s original 1.6 per cent proposal. That offer was widely criticised by staff as incompatible with the rising cost of living and the BL’s reliance on low-paid frontline workers.
Effective from August 2025, the new pay package includes a consolidated 4 per cent increase for the Library’s lowest-paid and frontline staff. Full implementation of the London Living Wage will bring some workers up to that threshold.
A minimum uplift of £2,000 for security, technical, specialist support and similar roles addresses entrenched pay compression. And a review of allowances, particularly the longstanding issue of unpaid alternative working patterns for security staff.
Concession
In a further concession, the British Library has withdrawn its proposed senior management restructure, which would have awarded directors up to £5,000 in additional annual pay – an announcement that had fuelled anger among staff during the dispute.
PCS now intends to submit its 2026/27 pay claim at the earliest opportunity. The union will renew its focus on achieving restoration for missing out in 2023/24. In that pay round, British Library staff received only a 3 per cent increase compared with 5 per cent awarded to other comparable public sector workers.