Fact Service September 2010

Issue 39

Two councils announce more job cuts

Sheffield City Council has issued redundancy notices to 8,500 staff.

Paul Kenny, general secretary of the GMB general union said the notices “nail the lie that this government’s policies will not cost jobs". They will lead to reduced services for the public and inferior terms and conditions for staff, the GMB leader said.

The news from the Yorkshire-based council comes on top of the redundancy notices for 26,000 council staff in Birmingham, and is a further unpleasant taster of what is to come.

“The blame for this reduction in services and in jobs lie firmly at the door of David Cameron and Nick Clegg,” said Kenny.

In a further attack on local services, Cornwall Council has announced plans to make 2,000 of its employees redundant over the next four years.

According to the BBC News website, the county council is looking to reduce its expenditure by £110 million over the next four years and has drawn up an emergency budget in an attempt to pre-empt the effects of the October spending review.

www.gmb.org.uk/newsroom/latest_news/sheffield_hr1_notices.aspx

www.hrreview.co.uk/articles/hrreview-articles/employment-law/cornwall-council-to-cut-2000-jobs-2/11645