Pay hike may lead to unprecedented lay offs amongst council workers
The joy of the council workers after a recent pay hike proved to be short lived, as they now face the danger of losing their jobs.
More than 1 million local authority workers have been awarded a pay increment of 2.75% by the independent arbitrary and conciliation service body, Acas. The refuse collectors, dinner ladies, librarians and teaching assistants are amongst those who will benefit from the pay hike. The two days strike in July was probably what clinched the hike for the workers. However, the victory for the workers may turn sour by an expected increase in job cuts.
Acas’s decision has been received with mixed reactions. Margaret Eaton, Chairman of the Local Government Association is said to have expressed surprise and disappointment over the decision. She reasoned that the taxpayers cannot be expected to bear the additional burden in these difficult times, and hence, the only way to accommodate the unforeseen rise in expenses will be to cut some jobs.
Brian Baldwin, chairman of the employers’ side of the National Joint Council felt that the pay hike would further stretch the already strained services, and warned that the sector may have to see a spate of job losses. Visit Workplace Law’s website for more infrormation on enroling onto dse courses.
It was brought to light by a recent survey that over 100 authorities have already been “shedding the flab”, while an alarming figure of 70% are expected to do so in the future. Brian Strutton, GMB’s national secretary for public services, also commented that the council workers are in for disappointment after the recent announcements.
