Another broken Labour promise by Southampton's new Council Administration as a hit list of 240 jobs is revealed, ahead of the draft city budget announcement next month.
Labour went into the local elections in May saying there would be no council job cuts as a result of their new staff redeployment model based on one adopted in Sunderland. They renamed this approach the Solent model and described it as their plan B for the council. The scheme would have seen the staff redeployment period extended to 12 months. Immediately after the election this was watered down to 8 months and today the final scheme will be agreed by the Labour Cabinet - just 4 months. At the Council's Overview and Scrutiny Management panel meeting on Thursday Labour admitted that they hadn't researched the policy properly and upon taking control of the council they realised that it was totally unaffordable. They also admitted that the policy was only intended to last one year to get them through the election period and was then due to be scrapped anyway.
However the biggest bombshell was revealed at Full Council on Wednesday and then clarified at the Overview and Scrutiny panel meeting the day after. Labour has been working on a secret hit list of staff who will be axed - all council staff on fixed, short term temporary contracts. The list of staff includes over a dozen bin men, library staff, sure start and nursery workers. These staff will receive no redeployment. Labour say that the union bosses have been working hand in glove with them on the issue. Not only is this a betrayal of City Council staff who Labour have misled it is very disrespectful and totally unprofessional for Labour to once again reveal job cuts in public before speaking with those involved. After leaking their summer mini budget to the media, Labour were rightly chastised for having Oaklands Swimming Pool staff first hear about their jobs on the radio. Now Labour have done it again, announcing 240 job cuts in the public meeting of the Full Council, before having the decency to speak with those affected, some of whom have been with the council for up to 7 years.
Labour are proving time again that they cannot be trusted in Southampton and that they were prepared to say anything before the elections in order to win power, but had no intention of keeping their promises once they got in. Will the the local union bosses do anything about it? No of course they won't because they are Labour Party people who represent their own interests and that of the Labour Party - jobs and services are not their priority and once again this is being shown to be true.
Showing posts with label Unions. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Unions. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
Labour/Union Pay Deal Will Cost Jobs and Services
A deal between the union bosses and the new Labour Administration was always going to come fairly quickly once the elections were over. The industrial action was political from the start, with the senior union negotiators all Labour Party people. However the recently announced deal doesn't mark the end of this sordid story. The cost of the deal is £2.8M a year, and this comes on top of the very large budget gap that the council faces in order to balance the books. The previous Conservative administration made terms and condition changes to keep more people in work and to protect the services that residents rely on.
The price of the Labour/Union deal will be lost jobs and services. However we won't know exactly who and what will be axed until November when next year's draft council budget is published.
Labour and the union bosses are keeping that information under wraps until after the council staff are balloted on the pay deal. It is very underhand to present this as good news to staff and ask them to vote on it and then a month later reveal to them exactly what it costs to pay for it in lost jobs and services.
We have already seen the start of Labour's cuts hitting the front line. The pay agreement alone is the equivalent of 10 Oaklands Pool closures.
It’s a deal that favours better paid staff and it is likely that it will be lower paid staff that bear the brunt of the job cuts.
Under the Conservative Council those earning less than £17,500pa (40% of staff) received a pay rise. The Conservatives were offering to protect those on £22,000pa and under from pay cuts and restore previous pay cuts, backdating them until last summer. It is ironic that the vast majority of bin men would have been better off under that arrangement, by about £600 compared with Labour/Union deal. Labour and unions were happy to use bin men for their own means during the strike but have secured them a worse deal.
This new deal will also be cold comfort to those staff which the union leaders managed to convince were due thousands and thousands of pounds if they took the council to court.
The tragic outcome of this long political campaign will be felt not only by staff themselves when Labour announce their extra job losses but by the residents of the city who will see more of their services axed.
The price of the Labour/Union deal will be lost jobs and services. However we won't know exactly who and what will be axed until November when next year's draft council budget is published.
Labour and the union bosses are keeping that information under wraps until after the council staff are balloted on the pay deal. It is very underhand to present this as good news to staff and ask them to vote on it and then a month later reveal to them exactly what it costs to pay for it in lost jobs and services.
We have already seen the start of Labour's cuts hitting the front line. The pay agreement alone is the equivalent of 10 Oaklands Pool closures.
It’s a deal that favours better paid staff and it is likely that it will be lower paid staff that bear the brunt of the job cuts.
Under the Conservative Council those earning less than £17,500pa (40% of staff) received a pay rise. The Conservatives were offering to protect those on £22,000pa and under from pay cuts and restore previous pay cuts, backdating them until last summer. It is ironic that the vast majority of bin men would have been better off under that arrangement, by about £600 compared with Labour/Union deal. Labour and unions were happy to use bin men for their own means during the strike but have secured them a worse deal.
This new deal will also be cold comfort to those staff which the union leaders managed to convince were due thousands and thousands of pounds if they took the council to court.
The tragic outcome of this long political campaign will be felt not only by staff themselves when Labour announce their extra job losses but by the residents of the city who will see more of their services axed.
Thursday, July 07, 2011
Audio Interview on Southampton Strikes
Interview with Portswood.info on industrial action (recorded Saturday 2nd July). Click HERE to see the full article on Portswood.info.
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Monday, June 27, 2011
Striking Staff Offered A Payrise
In a bid to end industrial action in Southampton the City Council last week offered to exempt all staff earning £22,000 or less from pay cuts and ensure a £250 payrise for those earning £21,000 or less.
The offer forms part of a 10 point plan put to the unions. Sadly the unions bosses have refused to put the proposals to their members, despite claiming that 7 out of the 10 proposals were their ideas!
Union bosses seem more interested in striking for political reasons rather than seeking the best deal for staff and their members in difficult financial times.
The offer forms part of a 10 point plan put to the unions. Sadly the unions bosses have refused to put the proposals to their members, despite claiming that 7 out of the 10 proposals were their ideas!
Union bosses seem more interested in striking for political reasons rather than seeking the best deal for staff and their members in difficult financial times.
Sunday, June 12, 2011
Local Residents Should Not Be Put In The Front Line Of A National Trade Union Campaign
As Southampton enters a fourth week of union strike action, every effort must be made to resolve the dispute and get services back to normal.
This coming Thursday will see a fifth negotiation meeting between the City Council and trade unions. Compromise is needed from both sides and the focus has to be on protecting front line services to residents and protecting jobs.
With the unions set to hold a major rally in city tomorrow it is important not to let national disagreements cloud the debate. We have to sort out our problems here in Southampton and putting local residents in the front line of a national dispute between trade unions and the government is not fair.
This coming Thursday will see a fifth negotiation meeting between the City Council and trade unions. Compromise is needed from both sides and the focus has to be on protecting front line services to residents and protecting jobs.
With the unions set to hold a major rally in city tomorrow it is important not to let national disagreements cloud the debate. We have to sort out our problems here in Southampton and putting local residents in the front line of a national dispute between trade unions and the government is not fair.
Debating with the trade unions on the Politics Show
Monday, June 06, 2011
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