Unite brands 1,500 Liverpool city council job cuts as ‘brutal’
27 January 2011
Unite fears that 10,000 council jobs are
under threat in the North West
The North West of England is being hit by a tidal wave of local
government staff cuts which could see at least 4,500 jobs going at
Liverpool, Manchester, and Sefton councils.
Unite, the largest union in the country, today (27 January 2011)
branded the decision by Liverpool city council to axe 1,500 jobs by
the end of March 2013, by compulsory redundancies, if necessary;
and Sefton council’s proposals to cull 1,000 jobs - due to be
discussed at a council meeting tonight (Thursday) - as ‘brutal’ and
would have ‘a devastating and lasting adverse impact’ on services
at the two authorities.
These latest cuts follow the announcement earlier this month by
Manchester city council to axe 2,000 jobs because of government’s
spending cuts. Unite has said that it would be holding a
consultative ballot of its nearly 1,100 Manchester members on
possible industrial action.
Unite estimates that throughout the whole of the North West the
job loss tally could reach 10,000 in the near future.
Unite regional officer, Debbie Brannan, said: ”The cuts planned
by Liverpool and Sefton councils are brutal and will have a
devastating impact on services for some of the most vulnerable
members of society.
”We will be discussing with our members at both councils what
action they wish to take to halt these job losses caused by the
coalition’s decision to deeply cut local government funding. We are
being hit by a tidal wave of job losses in the North West.
”We will be liaising with other trade unions and community
groups to build a coalition of resistance against these cuts to
vital services.
”The coalition has claimed that the private sector will absorb
the public sector job losses. But when you have such high profile
closures on the cards as Burton's Foods on the Wirral with 342 jobs
to go, this does not auger well for a vibrant, job-creating private
sector.
”The council workforces did not create the financial mess we are
now in, it was a rampant, greedy, out-of-control City. Why should a
refuse collector in Liverpool pay for the mistakes of a
bonus-bloated City banker?
”Council leaders need to go back to communities and local
government secretary Eric Pickles and challenge ministers on why
they are causing mayhem with local services by this massive
withdrawal of funding.”
She added: ”The other complication in Liverpool is the cleansing
and grounds maintenance contracts, where the majority of our
members work, have been outsourced to Enterprise, a joint venture
with the city council. We are expecting cuts there, but don’t know
the details yet.”
Unite has more than 300 members at Liverpool city council and
nearly 600 at Sefton council.
Liverpool council said it had to find £141 million of savings
between now and 2013 - £91 million of them in 2011-12.
Unite’s national organiser for the services sector, Peter Allenson,
said: ”Unfortunately, what is happening in Liverpool and throughout
the North West is being replicated across the country. The tally
for job losses in local government will run into tens of
thousands.
”As a result, vital public services that people have taken for
granted for the past 50 years could either disappear or exist only
in a skeletal form, and will probably be run by profiteering
private companies.“
ENDS
Notes to news editors:
For further information, please contact: Debbie Brannan
07768931271; Peter Allenson on 07980 721 434; Unite communications
officer Shaun Noble on 07768 693940
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