Derby council redundancies ‘not necessary’, says Unison

Derby City Council has been criticised by Unison for aiming to make 500 employees redundant.

Some 330 members of staff have already lost their roles and the union claimed there is no need for compulsory redundancy at the local authority. Nicole Beresford, Unison branch secretary for the city council, stated avenues such as voluntary redundancy should be examined again, reports BBC News. “Whether the redundancies are voluntary or compulsory, it is still a loss of skills and knowledge from the authority,” she said.

A council spokesman promised the local authority will be doing everything it can to support those who are under the threat of being made redundant. Derby City Council claims it needs to save £90 million over the course of the next five years, as well as cutting more than £22 million off its budget for 2012-13. Hundreds of TV Licensing workers are currently facing redundancy, with members of staff in Bristol thought to be most at risk of losing their jobs.