Jobs axe falls hardest on the high-earners at Islington Council

Published: 26th November, 2010
by TOM FOOT

TOP-EARNING council staff are being singled out for redundancy packages as the Town Hall looks to protect low-paid workers as part of its “fairness” agenda.

Union leaders were told yesterday (Thursday) that 570 staff will be affected by the government cuts and that 280 staff will be made redundant next year – 8.08 per cent of the council’s workforce.

The majority are “backroom staff” – including high-paid managers – rather than front-line workers.

Leaders of trade union Unison were called into a meeting yesterday with council chiefs to discuss the outcome of a series of massive reviews being carried out by each council directorate.

In children’s services, it is expected that 10 deputy managers working for Surestart children’s centres – earning £40,000 and above – will go while only two low-paid admin staff are having their hours reduced.

In the culture department, it is anticipated that 53 library staff will have their hours cut and five managers will be made redundant. Islington Unison Jane Doolan said: “At the end of the day, any job loss is awful. It doesn’t matter who you are, you still have a family and commitments.

“Some staff are offering to go down to a four-day week. They feel it will save their colleagues’ jobs, which is admirable. But I do not personally believe it will. It is much bigger than this.”

She said the mood in the council was “manic”. 

As a result she had not been home in the early evening for weeks because of a series of relentless meetings.

Islington Council has chosen not to release precise details of which posts will be affected and where cuts will occur.

It is awaiting an announcement on December 2 when further reductions in its government grants (currently £240million) will be revealed. Grants are used to fund about 75 per cent of public services – while the rest is paid for by council tax.

It is the Labour council’s policy to ensure that the  poorest workers do not feel the full force of the government’s cuts. 

Labour councillor Andy Hull, chairman of the council’s Fairness Commission, said: “We are taking a political approach to it. We must make decisions about the budget accordingly. Nothing finalised, but we are trying to make sure that the pain needs to be distributed in as fair and progressive a way as possible.”