GMB No To MOD Job Cuts
Thursday 17th February
2011
GMB TO OPPOSE 2,500
JOB CUTS FOR MOD CONSTRUCTION
AND MAINTENANCE STAFF
Jobs to go based at army
barracks, naval bases, depots and airfields; in the Housing Estate,
involving more than 48,000 service families' homes; and the Defence
Training Estate, which comprises 16 major armed forces training
areas and 104 other areas and ranges in the UK
GMB commented on the announcement in
Parliament yesterday that some 2,500 construction and maintenance
staff at the Ministry of Defence will lose their jobs by 2014. See
notes to Editors below.
Rehana Azam GMB National Officer for
members at MOD said "As with the soldiers who were told of
their redundancies while in action, this Government is tripping
over itself to get rid of people's jobs without considering the
consequences.
The announcement includes the
scrapping of the Defence Estates Organisation and replacing it with
a new structure called the Defence Infrastructure Organisation
(DIO). The rationale being used is that this will be more efficient
and will save money. Its posts that get made redundant not people
and these jobs will still need doing by someone.
These jobs are based at army
barracks, naval bases, depots and airfields; in the Housing Estate,
involving more than 48,000 service families' homes; and the Defence
Training Estate, which comprises 16 major armed forces training
areas and 104 other areas and ranges in the UK. These staff also
support military tasks overseas, including in
Germany,
Cyprus, the Falkland
Islands,
Gibraltar,
Iraqand
Afghanistan.
The announcement is misleading
as it says "There are no staff reductions as result of creating
DIO" while at the same time it says "the new
organisation will be subject to savings including a reduction in
staff" and the number announced is 2,500.
Front line workers are facing
huge uncertainties and this government as an employer fails to
demonstrate a duty of care which is
unacceptable.
The GMB will be making a
robust representation on behalf of our members who will be affected
by this announcement."
End
Contact: Rehana Azam 07841 181
656 or 0208 947 3131 or Andy Prendergast 07984 492726 or
GMB Press Office: Steve Pryle on 07921 289880 or Rose Conroy on
07974 25183
Notes to Editors
Report of announcement in House of Commons on 16 Feb 2011
Some 2,500 construction and
maintenance staff at the Ministry of Defence will lose their jobs
by 2014, it was announced today.
Defence Secretary Liam Fox said the
creation of a new body to manage the military estate - the Defence
Infrastructure Organisation (DIO) - would save £1.2 billion over
the first four years.
In a written statement to MPs, he
said: "This measure will make a significant contribution to the
civilian staff reductions and efficiency measures set out last
October in the Strategic Defence and Security Review."
From April 1, the DIO will bring
together around 7,000 staff, the vast majority of whom are
civilian, working on construction, maintenance and disposal of land
and buildings across the MoD.
Dr Fox hailed the DIO as a "radical
approach to reorganisation and resourcing" that would "maximise the
amount of the defence budget made available for the front
line".
The new organisation is the first
change recommended by the Defence Reform Unit - headed by
crossbencher Lord Levene of Portsoken - which was tasked with
overhauling the structure of the MoD without reducing the
effectiveness of its services.
Dr Fox said: "Our armed forces and
their families deserve the best possible facilities in which to
live, work, and prepare for operations, within the current
financial situation.
"A single infrastructure organisation
will provide effective support to our military personnel and better
strategic management of the defence estate.
"It should also deliver significant
savings in running costs, increase opportunities for estate
rationalisation, and promote private sector growth - ultimately
delivering better value for money to the taxpayer while giving the
armed forces what they need."
He said ministers would now launch a
consultation process with the MoD's trades unions.
The DIO will take on the estate
management responsibilities of its predecessor, Defence Estates
(DE).
These will involve overseeing the
physical maintenance of buildings and equipment, support services
such as cleaning and catering, and managing energy and water.
The organisation will also support
military tasks overseas, including in Germany, Cyprus, the Falkland
Islands, Gibraltar, Iraq and Afghanistan.
Most of the 7,000 staff to be brought
together in the DIO currently work for DE. The rest work in
infrastructure within the Army, Royal Navy and Royal Air Force, and
other smaller organisations.
DE currently spends some £2 billion a
year managing around 240,000 hectares of land and property on
behalf of the MoD.
The military estate comprises three
main areas: the Built Estate, made up of barracks, naval bases,
depots and airfields; the Housing Estate, involving more than
48,000 service families' homes; and the Defence Training Estate,
which comprises 16 major armed forces training areas and 104 other
areas and ranges in the UK.
DE chief executive Andrew Manley said:
"This new organisation is being designed to ensure we have an
affordable and sustainable military estate that gives our armed
forces the best possible facilities in which to live, work and
train.
"A single infrastructure organisation
will provide better strategic management of the defence estate
whilst also delivering significant savings in running costs and
offering increased opportunities for estate rationalisation."