The
secretary of state for work and pensions has admitted there was no prior
consultation with the unions before the announcement of huge job losses in last
week’s Budget.
Andrew
Smith did not rule out some compulsory redundancies – but said he would try to
avoid them – adding that 9,000 of his department’s staff leave each year.
Unions
have reacted angrily to the news. Paul Noon, general secretary of the Prospect
union, said: "If a private sector employer behaved in this way and
announced 40,000 jobs losses without consultation there would be uproar."
The
TUC warned that the proposed cuts could cause "a collapse of morale among
remaining staff… and could have a serious impact on the delivery of frontline
services."
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