Demonstrations expected over Shropshire Council cuts
Thursday 11th November 2010, 11:44AM GMT.
Hundreds of demonstrators were today expected to protest at Shropshire Council plans to cut staffing costs by £1 million a year.
The protest, called by the Shropshire branch of Unison, was due to be staged outside the Shirehall in Shrewsbury ahead of a meeting of the full council.
Union leaders claim cuts will hit frontline council staff financially and impact on services to some of the most vulnerable people in the county.
Proposed changes to staff terms and conditions will be presented to the council its chief executive Kim Ryley.
They mainly focus on car user and mileage allowances affecting about 1,200 staff, and a proposed reduction in redundancy compensation payments.
Unison claims that many staff rely upon cars to visit elderly and other vulnerable people in their own homes.
Branch secretary Patricia Wilson said today she hoped more than 400 demonstrators would be at Shirehall to lobby councillors before the meeting.
“We have invited members of other trade unions along and have opened the demonstration to all,” she said. “This meeting will be the start of public service cuts in Shropshire. It will impact on staff finances and on service provision.”
Today’s meeting is also expected to rubber stamp a new schools vision and organisation policy agreed by the cabinet.
Most Commented
- Clampdown on Shrewsbury chuggers
- Bishop's gay marriage views do nothing to support bible teachings
- Letter: Alcohol price plans annoy me
- Planners ordered to stay on Newport visit bus
- Letter: Angered by close encounter of the furred kind
- Letter: No sense in overseas job adverts
- The Bleak Old Shop of Stuff doesn't raise a smile
Shropshire Star on Twitter
Keep updated with the latest breaking news and content on our Twitter feed.
Lifestyle
Interactive Dining Out map
Hundreds of reviews by the Shropshire Star and Express & Star's teams to help you decide where to eat.
Entertainment
All the film reviews
Before you plan a trip to the pictures, get our critics' verdicts on all the latest movie releases.
OUR NEW APP
Get the new Shropshire Star app
Download the Shropshire Star’s new app to your iPad or iPhone to get one week of access to our digital newspapers absolutely FREE.
shropshirestar.com
Popular sections
Useful links
Oh Dear – the next step of the big social change starts here?
The reality is that society has always been a mixture of have and have nots and the inevitable consequence of that is that wealth gets concentrated in one small part of the population. Throw depleting natural resources in the mix and out of control population growth and the true meaning of globalisation becomes clearer – i.e. it is a game played purely for the rich and the powers that be.
Most of us consume globally sourced products – some of this is legitimate in that they are goods that are not available locally – so trade as it used to be so to speak.
The downside is that a lot of goods are shipped halfway around the world not because we cannot produce them in this country but simply for profit motives – i.e. “cheap” and exploited labour. Up until now I suggest that the vast majority of people don’t think twice about this – but it’s a little different as the game heats up and droves of jobs leave our economy.
The old system is not sustainable . I suggest a step in right direction is relocalisation and all of us realising that someone always pays the price for so called cheap goods – up to now it has been faceless individuals on the other side of the world – now its our turn !
Report abuse