Working conditions for thousands of public sector employees are set to be altered under new proposals which have been agreed by Birmingham City Council.

The council, which is planning widespread redundancies as part of £300 million cuts in the city’s budget which have to be made over the next four years, is to introduce new staff contracts in what is claimed to be “an attempt to use staffing resources effectively and ensure the cost of staff is value for money.”

The council has been consulting extensively on the proposals with the trades unions and employees since last year and will be issuing new contracts of employment to its 19,000-strong workforce.

Amongst new conditions attached to working for the council will be the end of some enhanced allowance payments such as unsociable hours and weekend work, and the amendment of others, such as night shifts. Car and parking allowances will also be altered and in many cases restricted. There will also be a broadening of job groups to create a more flexible workforce better able to  move around the council, which is it said will lessen the risk of further redundancies.

Cllr Alan Rudge, Cabinet Member for Equalities and Human Resources at Birmingham City Council, says, “The contract brings our organisation into line with other leading employers and will make the council more resilient to future pressures, Greater flexibility will enable the council to make best use of the skill, knowledge and experience of its people and, in turn, this will help us to continue to meet the needs of Birmingham’s residents.”

Some of these measures are necessary in order to keep Birmingham city council working efficiently. However, this announcement coming so close on the heels of such large-scale redundancies will invariably be seen in some quarters as a way of blackmailing workers into accepting such measures at a time when their jobs are being threatened.

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