UNISON members at South Hams Council and West Devon Council are unanimously opposed to the councils’ plans to shunt staff into a local authority company, the leading union has warned.
Some claim they are ‘embarrassed’ by the current state of the two local authorities and many are looking for new jobs because of the stress they are already under, the union has revealed.
In a letter sent out to all councillors on South Hams and West Devon councils, Unison has claimed that the already implemented Transformation 18 vision – which saw scores of jobs go across both authorities – is ‘failing’; the timetable for the latest proposals is ‘unacceptably fast for proper consultation’; and the union members feel they are simply not being listened to.
The letter from Unison regional organiser Karen Williams warned: ‘Staff have demonstrated their concerns in surveys carried out by Unison and by the employers.
‘We are being told by many of our members that they are actively seeking alternative employment to get out of the stress they are experiencing and that many experienced and skilled staff have already left.
‘They inform us that they have experience of colleagues struggling to recruit the right staff because the generic job roles under T18 do not appear relevant to local authority workers with skills and experience they want to develop.
‘Furthermore, members feel that the lack of support with the costs of travel between workplaces in such a large geographic area is a barrier to recruitment and another reason existing staff are seeing other employment options as more attractive.
‘Many Unison members told us that they used to feel proud to work for the councils, but that they now feel undervalued and embarrassed about the situation in both councils.
‘These are members of Unison who are employees of the councils that bought into the T18 vision and have worked hard to try to achieve the aims and objectives of the councils. Our members feel that the Business Case and Implementation plan written by Price Waterhouse Coopers is written in ignorance of the current problems and with little knowledge of the rural economy in South Hams and West Devon.
‘To conclude, Unison members in South Hams and West Devon urge councillors to reject these proposals which would create further disruption and damage to staff morale, address the problems with the current models of working that staff have raised with Unison and in the staff survey, and lobby the new Government ministers to provide a realistic financial settlement for local government services to be delivered in South Hams and West Devon by directly employed staff.’