Councils Merge Services
Wednesday 9th February 2011
GMB FEARS FOR JOB LOSSES AND SERVICES AS WESTMINSTER,
HAMMERSMITH & FULHAM, AND KENSINGTON & CHELSEA COUNCILS
ANNOUNCE MERGER OF SERVICES
There is a real fear that frontline services will be hit and
this will have a detrimental effect on residents and on jobs says
GMB
GMB today commented on the announcement that Westminster,
Hammersmith & Fulham, and Kensington & Chelsea councils are
to merge certain services.
Gary Carter, GMB Organiser said, “GMB remains to be
convinced that plans by Westminster, Hammersmith & Fulham, and
Kensington & Chelsea will not impact on frontline services.
Days before Christmas the Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea
announced that 165 jobs are at the risk of redundancy and launched
36 reviews across departments. The jobs at risk include Technical,
Clerical Professional, grant funded and 14 Managerial roles. This
came shortly after 30 plus directly employed community care workers
were offered voluntary redundancy, so the council could outsource
their jobs to agencies.
GMB has written to the chief executive about the failure
to properly consult with employee representatives and the manner
and speed at which the council is looking to cut jobs.
The councils have provided a long list of services they
are looking at, but in areas like street cleansing and refuse
collection the three councils are locked into long term contracts
with three different contractors, offering very different services.
How will the interests of local residents in each borough be
protected? Are we going to see cuts to refuse collection and street
cleansing in each borough?
What the councils are saying does not reflect what is
actually happening on the ground. There is a real fear that
frontline services will be hit and this will have a detrimental
effect on residents and on jobs. It should not be forgotten that
the people providing these services, will lose their livelihoods at
a time of rising unemployment and higher living costs.”
End
Contact; Gary Carter, GMB Organiser on 07738
958140 or GMB press Office: Steve Pryle on 07921 289880 or Rose
Conroy on 07974 251823.
Notes to Editors: See PDF
attached of the announcement from the 3 councils.