Outrage as thinktank brands job losses 'easily manageable'

Friday, 9 September 2011 8:49 AM

By politics.co.uk staff

Trade unions reacted with outrage today after a prominent right-wing thinktank branded 400,000 public sector job losses "easily manageable".

Reform, a free market thinktank, said better services could be delivered with less staff.

"A smaller, higher quality public sector workforce will mean better public services," said director Andrew Haldenby.

Unions reacted furiously to the language, calling it a "crude attack".

Unite assistant general secretary Gail Cartmail said: "The not-so-hidden agenda of organisations like Reform is the break-up of the 1945 welfare state for the benefit of the market-driven private sector, where good education and health provision will be the prerogative of the wealthy.

"Reform's recommendations for abolishing national pay agreements for teachers and health staff have nothing to do with raising standards, but cutting costs to the bone."

Analysts at Reform claim that the public sector can shed the 400,000 jobs by replacing only nine of the ten workers that leave over the deficit reduction period.

Tags:
• economic recovery
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• spending cuts
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• unions