'More than 6,000 jobs to go at Lancashire County Council'

Published by Ross Macmillan for 24dash.com in Local Government and also in Central Government, Communities, Housing

The GMB fears that more than 6,000 jobs will be lost at Lancashire County Council as it tries to cut back spending by £180m, according to the union.

The union says that it means that more than 6,000 jobs, part of the 24,000 non-schools workforce employed by the council, are at risk over the next three years.

The GMB says its members employed at Lancashire County Council have been informed by the council that they are now seeking savings of £180m over three years rather than the £160m savings it was expecting.

According to the union, members were informed yesterday that the council will make a formal decision on how the cuts will be implemented after the council gets official notice of grant levels from central Government on 2 December. In the meantime, it says the council has invited staff to volunteer for redundancy and early retirement.

Paul McCarthy, GMB Regional Secretary in the North West, said: “Cuts to the level of £180m will be devastating for jobs and services provided by Lancashire County Council. This is more than a quarter of the £725 million the county council spends each year on services.

"It is very difficult to see where new jobs are to come from to replace job losses on this scale. It is also very difficult to see that there will be enough volunteers prepared to leave their jobs in the absence of alternative employment."

The GMB will be meeting its members to consult them as to how they want the union to deal with this unprecedented position.

The GMB has highlighted the threat to more than 3,000 jobs this week at councils in Barnsley, Rochdale, Stockport and Warwickshire, with the prospect of tens of thousands more losses to come across the country in the next few months.