Barnet's library workers and other council staff were on the streets, lobbying councillors about the new budget, before Tuesday's council meeting.

Unison members, including social services, finance, housing services, HR and education workers, stood outside Hendon's Town Hall in The Burroughs to express their concerns at being forced to relocate or lose their jobs as a result of budget cuts proposed by Barnet Council and agreed at the meeting.

Library workers, particularly, were angry at the council's plans to relocate staff to different positions across the borough in an effort to deal with cuts in the service.

One staff member, who works in a Barnet library, said that library assistants were asked to list their first three choices of libraries where they would like to be based. As a result, all assistants at East Barnet and North Finchley libraries had to undergo a competitive interview for their own positions, as many emplo-yees at other libraries listed these sites as their first choice.

The employee, who did not want to be named, said: "We understand that libraries will have different opening hours, but if there are sufficient vacancies, why are they doing this?

"Seeing how busy some public libraries can be, Leo Boland's chief executive of Barnet Council prediction that they will disappear in ten years' time is hard to justify. Last year, Barnet won a beacon status for social cohesion. Where is the logic in destroying something they excelled in?"

John Burgess, Unison branch secretary for Barnet, said: "The council needs to be realistic about the targets they are setting for staff. The reduction in staff has not meant a reduction in working hours for those remaining."

A council spokeswoman confirmed there would be a reduction of 15 library posts, 5.5 of which were vacant and would not be filled, with the balance being achieved through voluntary redundancy and early retirement. "The reduction of these posts has meant a number of vacancies across the library system, and a mechanism had to be put in place which fairly allocates staff throughout the service," she said. "It should be noted that when staff are appointed, they are appointed to the service as a whole and not to any particular library in the borough."