Councils 'treating staff like dirt'

A growing number of councils were treating their workforce like "dirt" by issuing statutory notices warning of redundancies as part of spending cuts, union leaders claimed today

The GMB said local authorities including Birmingham, Sheffield, Walsall and Croydon were holding a "loaded pistol" to the heads of staff by forcing them to accept changes to pay and conditions or lose their jobs.

The union said it will hold a meeting next week to decide how to respond to the issuing of the HR1 forms to thousands of workers.

GMB official Joe Morgan said: "Some Tory and Lib Dem councils are treating their staff like dirt. These councils are using a legal device of pretending to make all their workforce redundant and offering some of them re-employment on worse pay and conditions.

"It's like holding a loaded pistol to people's heads to force them to accept detrimental change or be out of a job with no compensation.

"That surely can't be lawful and it certainly isn't right. It has got to stop now before this gets more widespread."