Trade unions are highly critical of the government for planned measures that could see a 50% cut in district state administrations which could mean the dismissal of 27000 workers by January 2020. The unions say that there has been absolutely no consultation over the proposals, no review of local government services and no information provided on any possible social plan, (re)training initiatives or early retirement arrangements. The unions point out that there are few appropriate private sector job opportunities for many of the skilled workers who could be made redundant.
Unions criticise massive threat to local government jobs
More like this
Government threat to 30% of public sector jobs
(November 2016) EPSU has written a letter to the prime minister of Armenia to protest at plans to cut up to 30% of jobs in the public services. The letter also criticises the government for failing to carry out any consultation with trade unions on the planned restructuring. EPSU argues that the planned cuts will not resolve the economic problems facing the country and calls on the government to consult with all stakeholders.
Unions criticise government for undermining collective bargaining
The Frente Comum group of public service unions has criticised the government for failing to respect existing collective bargaining arrangements in the public sector. The government has put forward reforms to public sector pensions without going through the proper procedure for consultation. Instead of negotiating directly with public sector unions the government will use a social dialogue forum that includes private sector employers. The Frente Comum unions are concerned about the impact of the proposed pension reforms which could reduce rights for workers to retire from 60 with 40 years'
Massive vote for action to defend jobs
Workers in Learning and Skills Councils (LSC) across the UK have voted by nearly nine to one to support strike action against job cuts. Their union, the PCS public services union says that 1,120 jobs could by cut by the summer - nearly a third of the LSC national workforce. The union is angry that the LSC is forcing workers to apply for jobs rather than dealing with potential redundancies through retraining and redeployment. Read more at > PCS