Anton McNulty
MANAGEMENT in Mayo County Council has been asked to consider their position over the handling of the proposed job cuts in the Council, with many councillors fuming they were not given an information before the news broke last week.
Mayo County Council confirmed to The Connaught Telegraph newspaper last Tuesday, April 19, that they are seeking to reduce the number of Council staff by 15 per cent, with a dossier identifying the grade where the cuts needed to be made. Management of the Council said the cuts were being sought under the provisions of the Croke Park Agreement with 152 staff identified as ‘surplus’.
SIPTU, who represent a number of the workers earmarked for redundancy, described the report produced by the Council as a ‘blunt instrument’ which will have an impact on the Council’s ability to deliver its services.
The list indicating the grades where the cut-backs were to be made was dated March 23 and councillors feel they should have been informed of these proposals. Independent councillor Michael Kilcoyne told The Mayo News that the Management of the Council had the opportunity to tell them about these cuts but ‘kept quiet’, and has called for change ‘at the top’.
“We had a full Council meeting on Monday, April 11, and the Manager [Mr Peter Hynes] did not say that there was a possibility of letting 152 staff go. He kept quiet which leads to the conclusion that he does not appear to want to keep us in the picture. He had the information which he chose not to tell us which clearly shows he has no time for us.
“There needs to be change in the Council but it has to come from the management, right at the top. I don’t think they are able to run the Council. Peter Hynes is the captain of the ship with his team around him and they seem to be saying they can’t run the county. They seem more interested in what the Department of the Environment tell them than what the elected councillors say. The County Manager should stand up to the mandarins in the Department and tell them where to go,” said Cllr Kilcoyne.
A statement issued by John McHale, Acting County Secretary said the Council were implementing a process set down in the Croke Park agreement and the reasons for this was ‘to comply with the efficiency review group report and for financial reasons’.
“Consultation has commenced with the unions and will be continuing over the next couple of weeks. This process will be in compliance with the Croke Park agreement and no involuntary redundancies will take place. Reductions in staff numbers will be achieved by normal retirements, voluntary early retirements and voluntary redundancies.”
Cllr Kilcoyne rejected that this was to do with the Croke Park agreement and said there was plenty of work for staff to do but management won’t assign staff to do it.
However, Cathaoirleach of Mayo County Council, Cllr Michael Burke told The Mayo News that these cuts had been ‘well-flagged’ and the Council had no choice put to make cuts. He said every organisation was making cuts and the Council could not be any different.
“This is something every organisation has to make and look at and while I do not want anyone to lose their job I understand the management’s need to save money. Some people are living in a fantasy world and they have to be realistic and cuts have to be made. The IMF are in control of what we do and we are not in control of our own destiny. The ratepayers are struggling and everyone is getting hammered at the moment. Some things have to go,” he said.
Fianna Fáil councillor and Mayo County Council employee, Blackie Gavin said there was ‘fierce anger’ among council staff and councillors were being left in the dark about what was happening.
“People are coming up to you and asking you what’s going on and you don’t know what to say. I don’t know what’s going on and it is not good enough. The other members in Fianna Fáil are not happy with what is going on. There is too much whispering behind closed doors and we need to know the full story,” he said.
SIPTU official Pat Flannery said that the Council was already operating at a minimum and could not understand how it could deliver the service for the public with 152 less staff.
“From our point of view and I have expressed this to the County Secretary, we regard this report as a blunt instrument which has taken a percentage from all grades and will impact on service delivery. During the bad winter over the Christmas these people were out salting the roads and fixing leaking pipes. These are the people who will be affected, the frontline workers,” he said.
Mr Flannery said these proposals will lead to the privatisation of Council services and cited the privatisation of the refuse service as an example of how costs have been dictated to.
Sinn Féin councillor Rose Conway-Walsh also said that cutting jobs was not the way forward and finding out about the proposed cuts in the media was ‘not the right way to do things’. She said that they need to examine how these cuts will impact on core services and they need to find better ways of getting value for money and having cost benefit analysis rather than cutting jobs.
Elsewhere on mayonews.ie
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Council Cathaoirleach responds to calls for meeting on job cuts
