What Part-Time Workers are Saying about Working at TPL
Part I – Getting a Job
Full employment issues and the role of the part-time workers have always been a concern for us. In preparation for collective bargaining we sent surveys out to our members asking you to tell us about your concerns. We also asked our part-timers members about their experience pursuing employment opportunities at Toronto Public Library.
This is what they had to say:
…There are not enough full time public service assistant positions. Some of us have worked at TPL for more than 10 years and are still not able to obtain full time work……We are in desperate need of more full time jobs. Part-time employees are waiting 5 – 6 years to get a position. It is a shame…
…If the library wants to continually increase services, hours, statistics etc., we need more full-time staff…
…I have come to TPL from outside the system. I expect to wait many years for permanent full-time. I would like to see this situation addressed…
…the library is clearly understaffed when it comes to PSAs, pages and librarians. There are plenty of part-timers who would fill full-time positions if they were available…
..I am a part-time PSA and have worked at the library for 10 years. I have been looking for a permanent full-time position for 6 long years. I have submitted probably close to over 50 job applications…
…I have applied for more than twenty-five (I’ve stopped counting) full time jobs, but no success…
…I have been at TPL for almost seven years and my performance reviews are excellent…I have been unable to secure a full time permanent job…
…I have been employed by TPL since 2004. I started as a page and I have just graduated from library school last year. My permanent position is a part-time librarian. Over the past year and a bit, I have applied for at least a dozen permanent full-time positions to no avail. [Before I graduated], I applied for dozens and dozens of positions and could not get full time permanent work then either…
Despite Toronto Public Library’s reputation as the busiest public library in the world, the reality for its workers, especially part-time workers, paints quite a different picture. How long can this anomaly go on? The next flyer will show you what the reality is like for part-time workers at TPL.
