Trade unions recommend more cuts in Neath/Port Talbot

After lengthy discussions the trade unions Unison, GMB, Unite and Ucatt in Neath/Port Talbot council have announced an agreement which they claim will protect jobs while allowing the Labour council to make cuts due to the £21 million financial gap in its funding.

Unison and the other trade union members will have a feeling of déjà vu as they vote on the proposals.

A couple of years ago employees suffered a 2% pay cut across the board advocated by the leadership of the Unison branch.

Socialist Party Unison members warned at the time that this lack of fight from the Unison branch committee would not protect jobs in the long term and would only embolden the Labour council to demand more cuts in the future.

The agreement will mean pay cuts, a draconian sickness absence policy and overtime and unsocial hours cuts.

But there are no promises about protecting jobs. Employees are doing all the giving and the employer is doing all the taking.

We have only seen a small fraction of local authority cuts in Wales thus far.

So how will branches like Neath/Port Talbot Unison oppose swingeing cuts when they have worked in partnership with the Labour council to cut their members’ pay and terms and conditions?

Clearly the vote their members should be having is a vote of no confidence in their branch leadership.

A Unison member