Warning that Town Hall job losses could hit 700
Published: 11 February, 2011
by TERRY MESSENGER
Bid to keep first round of compulsory redundancies below 200
UP to 700 Town Hall jobs will disappear over the next four years, the borough’s finance chief warned this week.
Labour councillor Richard Greening made his prediction as Islington Council put the final touches to a £52million budget reduction package.
In the next financial year beginning in April, 350 jobs are earmarked to go.
And Cllr Greening warned: “At a guess there will be double the amount of what we’ve seen this year on the basis that we’ve still got double the amount of cuts to make over the next four years.” The council’s executive committee approved a four-year plan to conform with government requirements that annual spending must be slashed by around £100million by 2015. They also agreed a council tax freeze for 2011-12.
Cllr Greening said: “Obviously, we’re trying to minimise the number of compulsory redundancies through redeployment and natural wastage.”
He reckoned there would “a bit under” 200 compulsory redundancies in the first year.
Labour council leader Councillor Catherine West said that redundancies were what affected her most deeply.
She said: “You see the slump in the shoulders and you just know that person’s life is made much, much worse.”
The council executive committee approved a £1million injection of funds to Islington’s voluntary organisations to help redress a £7million cut in government support.
The biggest component – £350,000 – will go to advice services needed to cope with benefit cutbacks, extra debt and unemployment caused by government economic policy, said Cllr Greening.
Trade unions will be lobbying the Town Hall on Thursday when councillors meet to finalise next year’s spending cuts.
Unison and GMB have called on supporters to join them for a march and rally, starting at Highbury Fields at 5.30pm.