Union slams Comhairle cuts against staff 18/2/13
A Western Isles council union has hit out at Comhairle cuts against staff.
UNISON says it fears the council’s to make £400,000 of staff related savings will lead to an even higher rise in sickness absences.
The local authority union highlights that , just five years ago, the Comhairle had the lowest sickness absence across all Scottish local authorities.
However since then, absences (excluding teachers) has rocketed to an average of 13.8 days in 2011/12 compared to the Scottish average of 10.4 days.
The union spokesperson pointed out: the Accounts Commission reports that “the Comhairle is not clear what the underlying cause for the increase is.”
However, UNISON believes that shedding approximately 200 employees over the last two years is mostly to blame.
The spokesperson said: “Although all these posts were deleted, the actual tasks and
responsibilities remained, with the remaining staff faced with massively-
“Also, it is widely accepted that the effects of stress can lead to physical symptoms
of ill-
The union spokesperson said: “To date, there has been little impact on service delivery and this is indicative of staff commitment to delivering quality services across our communities.
“UNISON will continue to work closely with the Comhairle to ensure that proper sickness management procedures and appropriate training are adopted across the authority and with more staffing cuts anticipated, the Comhairle must bear in mind the impact on the remaining employees and their families.”