Council workers facing the axe

Sep 16 2009 by Douglas Dickie, Rutherglen Reformer

COUNCIL workers in Rutherglen and Cambuslang could be sacrificed as the authority braces itself for a tough four years.

A total of 150 middle-management jobs across the region could be axed as officials try to make savings of almost £23 million for the next financial year.

That figure could rise to £40 million due to the fallout from the collapse of the banks.

The council currently look to cut 2.5 per cent. from their budget every year, but that would only result in savings of around £10.7m.

Due to the bail-out of the banks, the grant allocated by the Westminster Government to Scotland is likely to be cut, with the Scottish Government subsequently cutting cash to councils, although it will not be known how much money the council will get until November.

Council chiefs say that by cutting 150 positions, they could save £6m.

Details of the proposals were given in a report to the Executive Committee. Departments are set to be restructured, with mergers of backoffice teams being proposed. Cultural services - the department that oversees libraries and museums - could become part of the trust that runs leisure facilities, such as the Lifestyle Centre in Eastfield.

Council leader Eddie McAvoy said they were facing a tough future and confirmed they were seeking voluntary redundancies.

He said: “The budget for 2010-11 will be tight but subsequent budgets for 2011-12, 2012-13 and the 12 months after that will be really difficult.

“We anticipate that the costs to South Lanarkshire as a result of the recovery programme, might be between £10m and £12m next financial year and even higher in the years to come.”

Corporate resources director Robert McIlwain said: “We will require to make levels of savings far in excess of those we have seen in the recent past.”

To identify efficiencies, a team of officers met with departmental chiefs and trades union representatives to discuss plans for a new structure.

Seventeen management posts are set to go in school support services and four managers involved in regeneration face the axe.

Changes in the way ‘money matters’ and welfare advice sections are run are likely to lead to five job losses and 10 housing department managers, with responsibility for property, could lose their jobs.

In the social work department, one ‘head of service’ and six ‘external managers’ could see their posts lost as part of the shake-up. In total, 146.5 posts have been identified for the axe out of a council workforce of about 16,000.

Further structural savings are also being considered as are the findings of a further review of the council’s operation by consultants Grant Thornton.

Their proposals and the plan to cut middle management posts will be further considered at next month’s executive committee meeting. It is expected that the structural changes will take three years to implement.

Stephen Smellie, secretary of the council’s Unison branch, said they had concerns about the efficiency agenda and proposed cull of middle managers.

“There is talk of £500m in cuts in the public sector in Scotland and local government will have to take a share of that,” he added.

“In South Lanarkshire, we understand what the council are trying to do but have concerns that the loss of staff will have a knock-on effect in terms of the levels of service and the greater stress on the officers who remain.”

He said that unions would be urging Finance Minister John Swinney to scrap the council tax freeze and allow authorities to increase the levy and mitigate the impact of the recession.