Union critical of job losses at same time as pay increases for senior staff

Unison has criticised the loss of four jobs in a reshuffle of
the social services department at East Riding of Yorkshire council
when senior officers have been given pay increases,
writes Paul Humphries.

The management restructuring has saved £200,000, but comes
at a time when the authority’s chief executive is to have a
£36,000 rise to £140,000 a year, and heads of department,
including the director of social services, will see their annual
salaries increased from £79,000 to between £90,000 and
£95,000.

The new salaries were recommended to the council following an
outside review by management consultants PricewaterhouseCoopers,
but Unison says staff are bitter that the pay increases have been
agreed at a time when jobs have had to go.

Tony Hunter, director of social services, said that a
complicated restructuring had taken place. “In the restructuring,
jobs have been created. There will be no compulsory redundancies
because of that restructuring.” It is expected the authority will
be seeking voluntary redundancy and early retirement.

Unison branch secretary Sid Cunnliffe, said: “The authority says
that posts have been created in the restructuring, and that is
true. But 10 posts have been lost and only six created, and that
has left a net loss of four jobs.

“To have this happen when at the same time there are big
increases for top management has reduced morale and really caused a
lot of upset.”

It is understood there has also been a capital spending freeze
in social services in a bid to save £220,000.