Shropshire council staff to get “new deal” on jobs
Wednesday 21st July 2010, 6:00PM BST.
Staff at Shropshire Council are to be offered a “new deal” which will give them “secure, skilled and satisfying” jobs in an authority that is having to slim down to tackle huge funding cuts.
Workers will need to be trained and equipped to become even more productive, says council leader Keith Barrow in a progress report.
He says he and his cabinet are hard at work in reviewing all options for cutting spending this year and over the next three years.
In his report, which he will present to the full council tomorrow, he reminds members cuts of nearly £60 million must be made – “an unprecedented challenge.”
“It is already clear that difficult decisions will need to be made by us as a council about which services we provide in future, how these are run, and at what standard they need to be,” says Councillor Barrow. “Our first priority has been to look at ways to quickly take out waste, duplication and unnecessary administration.
“Millions of pounds worth of initial savings have been proposed on this basis, and we intend to make early decisions on these over the summer period, and ask our managers to implement them as quickly as possible.”
On staffing, he says the council will be reshaped and, because most of its spending is on staff wages and salaries, the overall size of the council’s workforce will need to be reduced. “Our staff will need to be trained and be better equipped to become even more productive, and this essential investment will be a high priority, to enable wider changes and savings to be made as quickly as possible,” says Councillor Barrow.
“As part of creating the conditions for success, our staff will be offered a new deal. This will give them secure, skilled and satisfying jobs, in return for a flexible and adaptable approach to new ways of working in multi-tasking teams.”
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I haven’t seen much mentioned about the high numbers of managers nor the ridiculous amount senior staff are paid. And no, I’m not a local authority basher-I work in this one.
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hahahaha say good bye to your cushy pensions guys justice is coming for you
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Are you being serious? cushy pensions? any facts to back up your ridiculous claims? do you know how much the average LGPS pension is?
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coded language that means pay cuts all because of the bankers, the real big society is public sector workers who do long hours of social care yet we are punishing them
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Excuse me as I fall of my seat .I can’t laugh any more.
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Lets be honest they have got away with murder at the shirehall for decades. Although I only worked there for 12 months ish and years ago in my opinion what I saw was many who did not in honesty stretch themselves and played the system very well.The old argument it is not in my contract so not doing it excuse, was always used and people who were more productive and active were frowned on and exiled .
Anything asked by your employer in my view which is with in reason to ensure the wheels role as they should is the only cost effective answer, people need to be able to be more productive for the employer.
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Lets hope that the person who posted an earlier comment is still able to laugh when several of the services that both him and his family will be receiving as council tax payers get cut. Everyone receives a service from their local authority and everyone will be effected by these cuts and service changes. Lets not forget that employees of the council (also council tax payers themselves) contribute a good percentage of their salary into their pension pots. Sure the authority as an employer contributes too, but then so do most employers within the private sector, and who do you think provides the cash for private sector employers to cover their pension contributions? Yes the consumers who buys their services, but you never hear people complaining about that! Perhaps some of the people posting negative comments here should look a little closer to home. The financial crisis is due in large part to banks offering ridiculous amounts of credit to people stupid enough to accept it, and the problems that caused when the government had to bail out the banks. Perhaps it isn’t council employees reaping what they sow (as suggested earlier) but the public at large. I work within the private sector but as none of us our safe from job cuts, perhaps we should all show a bit more solidarity, regardless of which sector we work in and who employes us.
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Hmm, lets bash the public sector why dont we. lets just ignore the low pay which was agreed in the 1980′s with a compensation being a half decent pension, which incidentally local government worker pay large contributions for (local government pensions are not the same as civil servants pensions by the way). Now we get more years of pay cuts, redundancies and our mediocre pensions are being attacked.
I think the ignorant people posting here about ‘cushy’ public sector jobs, should maybe go and try and get a job, stop claiming benefits and try to educate themselves on how the world actually works which is not the trash they read in the daily mail.
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Hear hear! Couldnt of said it better myself John/Greg im sick of this LG worker bashing!
People making open air comments without knowing any facts!
The local government pension scheme is paid into by its members and is in comparison to the civil servants and teachers scheme certainly not ‘cushy’! Your saying the average dinner lady/teaching assitant retires on a huge pension? I think not!
‘Lets be honest they have got away with murder at the shirehall for decades. Although I only worked there for 12 months……. ‘ Andrew Finch – You are obviously an expert with your 12 months experience….
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Oh will you all stop throwing your rattles out of the pram , Council worker I only mentioned what I saw and yes I will comment based on that, so no not an expert and actually it was 7 1/2 years split over 3 jobs as it has been pointed out to me .
I couldn’t care a less about pensions etc you pay in you get back, you do not pay in you do not get back. As for cushy public sector jobs of course their are some I saw some and I saw some work hard and I saw some play the system I remember one was flexi time which was pure fantasy land and ended up with having to work a Saturday with over time remember that one guys and girls??.
I also remember how hostile some shire hall workers were to one of thatchers great ideas for the long term unemployed which was a scheme called community programme and I remember my boss telling me do not speak to these people and do not offer any help to them as though they were the unwashed. I suppose some will be saying what goes around comes around.
And I would add the article was on about staff at Shropshire council who may, or we should say will be affected by the cuts and they may be asked to be more productive and I would assume some are already being very very productive as we speak in front of the boss if I worked there I would be watching my work associate.
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