TUC warning over job cuts

Saturday, 30 October 2004 12:00 AM

Government plans to axe 71,000 civil service jobs will prove to be a "false economy" and could obstruct public sector reforms, according to a TUC report published today.

The union body claims that the proposed cuts will deliver less than six per cent of the £22 billion Ministers expect to save through public sector efficiency reforms.

Releasing the report, TUC general secretary Brendan Barber warned that the "costs could easily outweigh the benefits."

"Public services are improving but looking for simple savings through job cuts at this stage could be a false economy," said Mr Barber.

"They may shoot a Tory fox, but cutting thousands of civil service jobs will hit the morale and capabilities of the public servants expected to implement government reforms. "

The planned cuts stem from the efficiency review conducted by Sir Peter Gershon on behalf of the Government.

The proposals, which were published as part of the 2004 Spending Review, recommend the loss of 70,600 personnel from the central civil service and the transfer of many jobs into front-line services. A number of posts will also be relocated out of London and the south east and further job losses are expected within local government and across Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

The TUC claims that direct savings from the planned job cuts will be less than £1 billion.

The TUC report comes ahead of next Friday's planned strike by Public and Commercial Services union members, in protest at the cuts.

Last month it was announced that a total of 37 social security offices and Jobcentres across the UK would close in the first wave of plans to reduce the number of civil service jobs.

The November 5th strike action will be the biggest in the civil service since 1993 and will affect Jobcentres, benefit agencies, pensions offices, customs, driving tests and other services.

As of April this year, the number of civil servants in the UK stood at more than 520,000.

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