Yorkshire councils 'should be braced for big job cuts'

The number of job losses planned at local authorities in England and Wales because of cuts has risen to more than 37,000 in recent weeks, according the GMB union's report.

There are 3,000 positions under threat at Leeds, 2,000 at Sheffield, 1,500 at Kirklees, 1,270 at Barnsley and 123 at East Riding, the union reported yesterday.

Twenty-seven local authorities have announced or threatened staff losses, with many others set to follow as the scale of their budget cuts becomes known.

Thousands of workers are facing pay cuts of between 2.5 and 5.4 per cent in areas including Barnsley, the GMB warned.

It has called on the Government to protect the earnings of low-paid council workers, reminding Local Government Secretary Eric Pickles the coalition had promised to protect workers earning less than 21,000 from the effects of the financial deficit restructuring.

"The mass unemployment resulting from the bankers' recession is being added to by the public policy of this Tory-Liberal Democrat administration," said GMB general secretary Paul Kenny.

"This at a time when the Government should be concentrating on growing the economy to give the millions on the dole a chance of finding work."

Leeds Council said its job losses will largely be through natural turnover where posts are left unfilled as they become vacant, as around 1,900 people leave the authority annually.

North Yorkshire County Council said it has drawn up plans to save more than 10m from the budgets of services such as the arts, countryside and road safety.

But Coun Gareth Dadd added: "We are required to make savings of more than 10m, so there will inevitably be an impact on our activities.

"But we will not compromise on any service which affects people's safety – particularly on our highways."

It was also revealed yesterday that up to 650 council jobs could be lost at York – three times higher than original predictions.

The chief executive of York Council, Kersten England, said: "We await the detailed settlement for York in the first week of December and so no accurate figures can be produced at this stage.

"But it is likely that around 400-450 additional posts will need to be deleted to achieve the savings targets between 2011 and 2015."

A Department for Communities and Local Government spokesman said: "Pay negotiations are entirely a matter for the local government employers and the trade unions.

"Local authorities have been aware for some time that funding reductions were imminent and should have been looking at a range of scenarios for reducing budgets next year whilst protecting the front line."