Cuts 'could mean 2,000 axed jobs in Sheffield'

The GMB, which has been compiling a list of job loss warnings, said 21 local authorities in England and Wales had warned of cuts in jobs as well as terms and conditions.

Officials said they were aware that a total of 29,815 jobs were to go in the 21 councils, while a further 57,600 staff in six authorities faced the sack if they did not accept inferior terms and conditions of employment.

Staff at two councils also faced proposed pay cuts, said the GMB. The latest council to warn of cuts was Sheffield, where up to 2,000 posts faced being lost over the next four years in response to a 30% reduction in grants from central Government.

Paul Kenny, the GMB's General Secretary, said "The avalanche has begun. Tens of thousands of people are already affected by job cuts, pay cuts and the dismantling of services. The New Year promises unemployment, misery and a further dismantling of services."

The GMB warned that the position will become worse when grants to councils from the Government are confirmed next month.

The union said that in recent weeks councils across the country have raised the prospect of job losses, including Sefton on Merseyside (1,000 jobs), East Riding, Yorkshire (123), Rochdale (350), Warwickshire (1,855), Barnsley (1,270), Stockport (400), Lancashire (6,000), Derbyshire (2,000), Stoke-on-Trent (2,500), Sandwell (1,000), Leeds (3,000), Shropshire (2,400), Telford & Wrekin (530), Camden (270), Havering (509), Dorset (700), Oldham (800), Halton, Cheshire (108), Somerset (1,500), Kirklees (1,500), Sheffield (2,000).

Meanwhile, Unite said it was "disgusted" by an announcement by Southampton City Council of 250 job losses.

Regional officer Matt Tipper said: "The viciousness of these cuts is staggering. We believe the attack on the most vulnerable in society and lowest paid, predominantly women workers within the council is unacceptable. It is not loyal public servants who have put the country in this situation, but the greediest in society."