£30 MILLION CUT IN NOTTINGHAMSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL WILL CAUSE CHAOS SAYS GMB
£30 MILLION CUT IN NOTTINGHAMSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL WILL CAUSE CHAOS SAYS GMB
GMB will not sit and watch whilst essential services that benefit thousands of people in need are wiped out leaving the public to suffer the dire consequences
Following the letter from Mick Burrows, Chief Executive regarding Nottinghamshire County Council’s intention to reduce terms and conditions, the Conservative Leader of the County Council, Kay Cutts has now shown her hand with the announcement of £30 million worth of cuts incorporated in the budget proposals.
Tyehimba Nosakhere, GMB Regional Organiser said “GMB members have been staggered and appalled by the savage attack on their terms and conditions followed by the proposed budget cuts. Not only has the Council reneged on their agreement to discuss and examine alternatives with the trade unions, they have also failed to embark on proper and meaningful consultation prior to making the shocking announcement to the workforce.
The proposed savings by cutting terms and conditions is £2.9 million and yet the trade unions cannot see how these savings will actually be made by destroying entitlements that have taken years to establish through negotiation and were part and parcel of single status. The cuts will affect annual leave entitlement, totally remove essential care user allowance, remove subsistence payments and also incorporate the downgrade of the current redundancy package. In addition to this the Council has announced it will close the County Contact Offices and many loyal and committed workers will either lose significant parts of their terms and conditions or their jobs. The Council claims that these cuts and reductions are necessary to redirect expenditure into safeguarding for children and vulnerable adults. However, the proposed cuts appear more likely to create further problems for front line staff who are already under resourced and under valued. Social Work Teams that are already under staffed and overworked will now lose the crucial support that they receive from members of the public who access the walk-in facilities at the County Contact units. When these units close there will be nowhere for often vulnerable and less able citizens to go.
The GMB is totally opposed to the hasty hacking away of these terms and conditions and although we understand that there are budget constraints, we do not feel that enough has been done to explore other efficiency savings as an alternative.
The County Council appears hell bent on creating disharmony, distress and disillusionment for honest, hardworking Council workers across the board and the blatant disrespect that they have shown to the trade unions clearly demonstrates that they have nothing but contempt for our attempts to establish some sense of order in dealing with this sensitive matter. If anything they appear to be throwing down the gauntlet as if to taunt the trade unions into walking away from the negotiating table so that they can use this to make political capital by casting us in a negative light.
Our members in County Contact and Welfare Rights have already been given their marching orders and the plug has been pulled on essential direct services to the public.
The GMB has maintained its presence at the internal joint committees and as much as we are prepared to fight to retain what we can for our members via negotiation, this has to be done in a manner that befits negotiation rather than dictation.
The Council has said that it intends to make a £2.9 million saving on terms and conditions regardless of efficiency savings and that it will give no guarantee that they will not cut more terms and conditions in the coming years. On that basis we can not continue to sit at the table and suffer insult rather than engage in negotiation. GMB has therefore balloted its members in respect of these issues and has made it clear that at some point GMB members will have to consider whether they are prepared to accept the Council’s intended cuts without challenge or if they will resist if necessary with industrial action where appropriate.
GMB will not leave its members to suffer the indignity of their jobs being lost or devalued without a fight. The GMB will not sit and watch whilst essential services that benefit thousands of people in need are wiped out leaving the public to suffer the dire consequences.
GMB’s campaign to make the public aware of the devastating affect of these cuts will incorporate a petition against the proposals and will seek to gain as much public support as possible. The fight goes on.