UNISON has criticised the Vale of Glamorgan council for publishing misleading information about the authority’s library service – ahead of the council’s own timetable.
Plans for the library services, including consultation responses, should have been discussed and ratified at a meeting scheduled to take place on Monday 9 March.
However, the council has already published information about reduced library services and opening times, and has called for submissions of interest from community groups to run libraries in the area.
UNISON libraries representative in the Vale of Glamorgan Gillian Southby, said: “The council’s announcement has caused chaos among both the residents in the Vale and members of staff currently employed to provide council services.
“Residents have already been into libraries across the Vale demanding to know what is going on with their library services, but library staff are equally as shocked at the announcement.
“We know that, with the greatest will in the world, library services cannot be run effectively by volunteers. The service would fall apart and would never be recovered, and many hard-working and dedicated library staff would lose their jobs in the process.
“We are calling on the council to rethink their plans and listen to the people they are supposed to be representing.”
A petition that already has over 2,000 signatures is to be handed over to the council at Monday’s meeting, when it had been due to discuss the service.
“We only hope that they are prepared to sit up and take note of the many Vale residents who want to see the continuation of fairly-funded and professionally-run council services,” said Ms Southby.
