Job cuts are on the table at Newcastle City Council as it looks to save $19-million over two years.
The union understands at least 12 staff have already been offered redundancies, and it’s sparked a stop-work meeting.
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Job cuts are on the table at Newcastle City Council as it looks to save $19-million over two years.
The union understands at least 12 staff have already been offered redundancies, and it’s sparked a stop-work meeting.
The City of Newcastle like so many other NSW local councils is facing a very challenging time financially.
General Manager Phil Pearce says we are facing the challenge head on and are proposing a three-part solution to Council through a combination of finding operational savings, increasing non-rate revenue and applying for a special rate variation of seven percent to be applied in a stepped approach over seven years.
“To reach our target savings we have adopted a staged approach to develop proposed scenarios to give to councillors on 26 February that will bring our budget back into line.”
The proposals combine changes to the organisation structure with some reductions in service levels. Council is making sure it can provide the key services our city needs.
“Obviously this is an unsettling time for the organisation and particularly for our staff. Already rumours are circulating about what changes may mean to staff and the services we provide. This is unhelpful and I have called on staff to have respect for each other.”
“Staff that may potentially be impacted have been briefed. However, any proposed changes that are accepted by Council will only be made in line with our current Enterprise Agreement.”
“We are consulting the Union throughout this process to ensure they are fully briefed on our position. The bottom line is the organisation is committed to addressing its budget and if we don’t have the money to pay for it, we can’t provide it.”
Lord Mayor Cr Jeff McCloy said at this stage these are only draft proposals that haven’t yet been presented to the Council. Final decisions will be made when Council adopts a budget at the end of June.