City of York Council to cut further 100 posts

A further 100 jobs are to go at the City of York Council.

The Labour-run authority cut £21m from its budget in 2011 and is planning a further £20m in savings over the next two years.

Unison said council staff were already struggling with increased workloads to maintain the expected level of service.

The council said it was working with staff to minimise the impact of cuts on employees and services. The council cut 170 full-time posts in 2011.

A two-year budget, expected to be approved on 23 February, includes a reduction of 100 posts across the authority.

Unison said staff were expressing concerns over increasing workloads and a lack of resources to deliver the kind of service residents wanted.

Biggest employer

Andrea Dudding, from Unison, said: "If you get people who are overworked and under pressure what happens is the quality of their work falls down.

"It also puts them at risk of being ill which puts additional pressure on their teams."

The authority admitted staff were facing significant "challenges" and it was working with staff, management and the unions on delivering the savings that councillors had agreed.

Councillor Julie Gunnell, cabinet member for Corporate Services, said: "The pressure is on but it is crucial that you work with the front line staff that are delivering services and look to see what wastage can be cut out and how you can improve how that service is delivered."

Ms Gunnell admitted the fear of further job losses would unsettle people but said the authority would continue to work to minimise the need for any compulsory redundancies.