UNION members have protested outside a council meeting over job cuts.
Around 25 people held up banners and heckled councillors on their way into the full council meeting last night (March 26).
The Greenwich branch of Unison, a public sector union, says it will consider industrial action if its members are made redundant.
Branch secretary Onay Kasab says the union has identified at least 80 jobs which will be lost under cuts in this year's Greenwich Council budget proposals.
He says this includes full-time care managers and library staff.
Mr Kasab said: "If they can't redeploy people elsewhere and our members end up being made compulsorily redundant we'll be balloting on industrial action."
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The union is also concerned that more cuts may follow because decisions are still to be made by the council on the future of children's services, adult services and mental health services.
He said: "So far there are eight compulsory redundancies for members but we don't know how many more there will be.
"Of particular concern is mental health because we really can't afford any cuts in those services in the borough.
"Councillors seem to have voted for this report without knowing what they were voting for."
And the union also wants to clarify what will happen to Coldharbour Library, William Barefoot Drive, Eltham, Abbey Wood Library, Eynsham Drive, and the mobile library service.
Earlier this month staff were told by managers these libraries would be closing but the union says this has since been denied by director of culture and community services Gurmel Singh-Kandola.
A Greenwich Council spokesman said: "The council is proud of the fact that it continues to provide the majority of its services locally and is therefore one of the largest employers of any local council in London.
"As such, it is inevitable that some service efficiency reviews may result in a very small number of posts being lost as the investment in new technology bears fruit."
Posted by: Your Lord, Erastus Theobald Piggott, The Study on 2:14pm Thu 27 Mar 08
Let's face it, the jobs are no longer needed or they would not be being cut.
There is no such thing as a job for life anymore.
Move on and get job hunting instead of standing around on a picket line feeling sorry for yourselves.
[bold]Your Lord, Erastus Theobald Piggott[/bold]
Let's face it, the jobs are no longer needed or they would not be being cut.
There is no such thing as a job for life anymore.
Move on and get job hunting instead of standing around on a picket line feeling sorry for yourselves.
Posted by: Hope, Blackheath on 12:19pm Sun 30 Mar 08
I'm sure this is a reflection of the large Compensation money ranging from £700/ £12,500...98% of the work force has just received due to the single status and equal pay that was supposed to have been implemented 10 yrs ago
I'm sure this is a reflection of the large Compensation money ranging from £700/ £12,500...98% of the work force has just received due to the single status and equal pay that was supposed to have been implemented 10 yrs ago
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