Tory group in jobs warning

The opposition Conservative group on Staffordshire County Council is warning of a period of great upheaval, job losses and higher bills following the plans to put £89 million into the proposed pay modernisation scheme.

The group claims it will inevitability lead to hundreds of job cuts and service reductions. Leader Councillor Philip Atkins said: "These cuts and job losses will put ever increasing pressure on the council's ability to deliver quality services and will probably affect some of the most vulnerable members in our communities.

"Equal pay in local government is a ticking time bomb whose explosion in Staffordshire is becoming increasingly imminent and unavoidable.

"If the Government had given this issue the same impetus it gave for health's Agenda for Change, liabilities would not stand where they are.

"Now we are faced with nearly 70 per cent of our staff having pay rises and there will be consequent job losses to pay for it.

"One person's pay rise is probably another person's job."

Councillor Atkins claimed the "mess" was the result of years of weak political leadership, poor performance management and bad budgetary control by the controlling Labour group.

"Yes, we have a new era coming, but without real changes at the top it looks like being more bad news for the residents of Staffordshire," he added.

The Conservative group has put forward a motion for debate at tomorrow's full county council meeting stating: "This county council exists to provide services to support and improve life for the people of Staffordshire and expresses grave concerns about the impact on jobs, services to local residents and cost to Staffordshire council taxpayers arising from pay modernisation."