News / SIC unions fear staff cuts being forced through
STAFF at Shetland Islands Council are being warned that up to one quarter of employees could lose their jobs in a bid to save huge sums of money.
Local government union Unison has sent a letter to its 970 SIC members telling them they have been frozen out of consultations on job cuts, as the council strives to save more than £30 million over two years.
Branch chairman Brian Smith said in the letter that “councillors and council officials are now stating openly they want to get rid of from 600-1000 employees”.
He compares the situation with Birmingham City Council, which represents 40 times as many people, where plans to sack 1,000 staff have led councillors to speak about the end of local government.
Smith said that secret talks between unions and former chief executive Alistair Buchan had been progressing well from October last year on a managed approach to redundancies throughout the council.
However those talks had stopped with no reason given in May this year, with the promise of a new working group being set up.
This working group met for the first time early this month to set terms of reference, but now appears to be on the back burner while directors hold a series of seminars with councillors to discuss job cuts.
A new group of senior officials called Directors for Change chaired by corporate services executive director Christine Ferguson has been drawing up plans for how the council can reduce its spending to avoid bankruptcy.
The council is currently engaged in more than 50 service reviews to transform the way it operates, with inevitable cuts in staff and services.
In his letter Smith says Directors for Change have had a series of meetings with a consultant over the past few months.
“As far as we can tell, most of their deliberations have dealt with a proposed budget cut of 35%, to be achieved rapidly, and without attention paid to the consequences for services and the local economy,” he wrote.
“We understand the intention is that these proposals, with no meaningful consultation, will be presented to councillors at a series of seminars in November in the hope that they will be rubber-stamped.
“Indeed, one crusading director has spoken openly about redundancy notices going out at Christmas.”
He continues: “There is no detail about the actual services that the people of Shetland will receive as a result of proposed cuts in staff numbers – how will day centres run, how will youth work be delivered?
“Who will suffer most – children, the disabled, the old: the most vulnerable members of our society?
“With no information, we have no answers to these questions, and neither do the people of Shetland.”
Branch officials have decided to “redouble efforts to persuade councillors, officials and our trade union colleagues to change direction”, warning that a piecemeal approach to such huge cuts will result in “grave harm”.
The union is calling on councillors and officials to engage in meaningful talks with the unions through the new working group.
However two other local government unions GMB and Unite have already boycotted the first working group meeting on the advice of their regional organisers.
Furthermore new SIC chief executive Mark Boden has told Unison via email: “What remains to be discussed with the trade unions is the detail of which staff, where, when and how they would exit their posts.”
In response, Smith said: “I take it that means no discussions at all will take place with staff other than to report to them what the council decides about these proposals by directors and then consultation will begin on redundancies.”
Smith said that he had been trying to communicate with council leader Gary Robinson for the past three weeks, but had not received a response. “We have absolutely no information about who this is going to affect.”
Robinson and Boden were unavailable for comment on Tuesday evening.
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