AS EDINBURGH councillors and trade unions dispute exactly how many jobs will be lost over the next four years, it has emerged all 20,000 council workers are to be offered voluntary redundancy terms.
The news has stunned staff at the council, where a budget shortfall of £141 million could mean thousands of posts being lost, and The National understands the main battleground will be how many posts are lost through compulsory redundancy.
The council currently has a "no compulsory redundancy" policy, but yesterday it admitted this was up for review.
Senior trade unionists fear the necessary savings can only be made by compulsory redundancy.
One council source warns a strike ballot would then "be almost automatic".
The council had already said 1,200 jobs would be lost in a cost-cutting "transformation programme".
Trade union Unison went further on Wednesday – saying 3,000 jobs could be lost.
Council leader Andrew Burns told a council meeting yesterday that he “does not recognise” that figure.
He added: “We have a policy of no compulsory redundancies and there have not been any since we made that pledge.
“All efforts have been made to redeploy surplus staff, we are monitoring the policy on a case-by-case basis to make sure it is still business and cost-effective.”
However, the council last night admitted it was set to consider compulsory redundancy as part of a number of proposals to address the budget shortfall.
Unison branch president John Stevenson warned the union would take action if this happened.
He said: “There is now the possibility of compulsory redundancies.
"We have a standard policy of balloting our members on taking industrial action should that possibility arise.”
Several reports to be discussed at next week’s finance and resources committee will propose cutbacks across the council.
These include proposals for a four-year budget framework that will address an overall shortfall of £126m – an additional buffer of £15m has been built into the proposals to ensure the £126m savings will be met, taking the target to £141m.
This includes savings to be made due to a £10m overspend in health and social care and nearly the same in property.
The new plans give options for a new property and asset management strategy to maximise the value of the council’s property estate, potentially saving £80m over 10 years.
There will also be an update on the council’s managing workforce change policy, highlighting measures to support staff through the transition programme, and encouraging voluntary redundancy.
This report highlights the “potential requirement for councillors to consider compulsory redundancy as a further option in the future, to achieve the required savings”.
The report also recommends the council consider outsourcing some services.
The council has highlighted the fact that changes to its commercial and procurement strategy are due to save £19m in 2015/16 and £20m in 2016/17.
The authority intends that all of these proposals will form the basis of its annual public engagement exercise, which will start in early October.
Councillor Alasdair Rankin, finance convener, said: “We are very clear about the scale of the financial challenge that the council is facing.
"The council is experiencing greater demand for services than ever before, with a growing population in Edinburgh and increasing numbers of older people and younger people, while our overall budget remains the same.
“We need to take action in order to achieve the necessary savings to meet this demand, and we are making every effort to do this in a way that will safeguard frontline services for the people of Edinburgh.
“We want to invest in the services that are important to the public but must also look to rationalise our spending.
“We recognise that some of these proposals may involve tough decisions, including a reduction in council jobs, particularly in middle management.
"But while this won’t to be easy, savings will allow us to prioritise the things that matter most to people. ”
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