Greenwich’s library workers have voted to strike, saying that they face a real-terms cut in their pay after having a below-inflation wage increase imposed on them.

Some 70 staff employed by Greenwich Leisure Limited (GLL) have agreed to take industrial action in the new year, which could result in widespread closures of libraries across the borough.

The Unite union said that GLL had imposed a 5 per cent pay rise on the staff, comparing it with the 11 per cent RPI rate of inflation. Unite claimedthat GLL had “completely refused” to negotiate with Unite, something GLL strongly denies.

Library workers were said to be on as little as £12.10 an hour. The London living wage has been £13.15 an hour since October. GLL has run the library service in Greenwich since 2012.

Sharon Graham, the Unite general secretary, said: “It is gobsmacking that an employer who claims to be a social enterprise and run by its staff not only doesn’t pay a decent wage, but refuses point blank to negotiate with the workers’ union.”

Unite added that the social enterprise had also refused to offer permanent contracts to temporary staff and add an acceptable occupational sick pay scheme.

Mary Summers, a regional offer for the union, said: “GLL needs to take a long hard look at itself and the damage it is going to needlessly inflict on library services in Greenwich. It needs to up its game and offer proper pay and conditions to its workers.”

A GLL spokesperson told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that the union’s local ballot had succeeded by the “narrowest” of margins. The social enterprise said it was disappointed by the decision and felt the move was unnecessary given its efforts to engage regularly in recent months on the issues raised by the union.

It said: “As an independently operating staff-owned national co-op, we are very focussed on the pay and conditions of our people. We are accredited with the Living Wage Foundation, and have raised pay for entry-level staff by up to 12 per cent this year. The announced uplift in the Real Living Wage will be reflected in the 2024 pay award for all our eligible staff.

“We offer permanent positions – the vast majority of hours are worked in this way – and guaranteed hours to part time workers that want them. We are happy to continue to meet with the union to clarify these points and resolve their dispute. Should there be unnecessary strike action, our intention will be to keep services running for the communities we are proud to serve.”

Joe Coughlan is the Local Democracy Reporter for Greenwich, based at MyLondon. The Local Democracy Reporting Service is a BBC-funded scheme to help boost coverage of councils in the local media.