Union: 700 jobs '˜under threat' at Derbyshire County Council

Public services union, the GMB, say 700 jobs are '˜under threat' at Derbyshire County Council as a result of '˜savage' Government cuts.
Derbyshire County Council's Matlock headquarters.Derbyshire County Council's Matlock headquarters.
Derbyshire County Council's Matlock headquarters.

The 700 jobs the union says are at risk are just part of a total of over 25,000 jobs that may go at 52 councils in England, Wales and Scotland.

Justin Bowden, GMB national officer, said: “However David Cameron tires to huff and puff that front line council services won’t be cut, the facts are inescapable.

“Councils’ budgets are being chopped yet again, translating into mass redundancies and cuts to the services they offer the general public - like moving to bin collections every three weeks or ending the cleaning of gullies, savage cuts to services for the elderly and for children and decimating parks and leisure services.

“It is already the case in most councils that regular home helps and hot meals on wheels are something from a bygone era.

“So much for Cameron’s claim that front line services would not be cut.”

A Derbyshire County Council spokesperson said: “We are looking at around 700 jobs being lost during the next financial year. At this stage this figure is an estimate, because many of the proposals for cutting money from our budget will be subject to consultation so may change. Some of the proposals identify a number of job losses if extra income is not gained during the year.

“We have around 1,200 fewer jobs now since 2010. Compulsory redundancies are always a last resort. Our services have been managing job vacancies for many years so that when someone leaves their job they are only replaced if absolutely necessary and we seek to move people into vacant posts if their job is at risk of redundancy.”