Council staff working overtime for fear of losing jobs
By Tara O’Connor, local democracy reporter
Croydon Council staff are working unpaid overtime out of fear they will lose their jobs a trade union has warned.
Union representatives gathered for a virtual rally, Save Our Croydon, this evening.
Croydon Council will have to make a series of cuts over the next three years in a bid to close a budget gap of more than £60 million.
There are expected to be job cuts and cuts to services from libraries to social care.
A public consultation on the cuts closed on January 24 and the full impact of the financial crisis is expected to be revealed next month.
At the meeting, Unite national officer Jim Kennedy said that strike action cannot be ruled out.
He said: “This is a three-year programme of cuts, cuts that affect the workforce, their families and the community.
“We have 30 per cent of our members working unpaid overtime because they are scared for their jobs.
“In terms of the programme outlined in Croydon, of course, once every process has been exhausted we should move to the industrial action ballot for strike action.
“We will have the community on our side because they are fed up with the cuts in local government.”
At the same meeting, secretary for the Croydon branch of UNISON, Yvonne Green, spoke of the stress the council’s financial situation has placed on staff.
She said: “Nothing could have prepared us to hear that the council was broke.
“The council ignored auditors’ concerns for over three years and was accused of corporate blindness, it is the services, community and the staff that will pay the price.
“It is a disgrace that the council is in this position and yet no one has been held accountable for bringing the council to its knees. Why should we pay the price?
“Services are already cut to the bone, staff are complaining of heavy workloads, stress and depression and it can only get worse if the council continues to cut jobs.”
At a council meeting on Monday night cabinet member for resources and financial governance Callton Young was asked how many jobs will be cut and how services will be affected.
He said the council will have to make “tough choices” in the coming weeks and months as it tackles the financial crisis.
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