Union anger at Budget 'day of the long knives'

The three main UK civil service unions are to hold emergency meetings this week on yesterday's televised revelation that up to 40,000 civil service posts will be axed by government.

Public and Commercial Services (PCS), Prospect, and the First Division Association (FDA), all reacted angrily to the news of the cuts in the Department for Work and Pensions, Customs and Excise, the Inland Revenue and the Department for Education & Skills.

PCS General Secretary Mark Serwotka said: "For thousands of hard working staff to hear that they are losing their jobs totally out of the blue without consultation is unacceptable. We are not against a more efficient civil service with more resources going to the frontline but it is difficult to see how services will improve with such swingeing cuts."

He added: "Arbitrary cuts in vital public services is not the answer. The manner in which these cuts were announced will do nothing to boost the morale of hardworking public servants who provide vital services to people from cradle to the grave. It's a case of a day of the long knives for public servants across the UK and we will are seeking an urgent meeting with ministers."

Prospect General Secretary Paul Noon said: “Nobody would argue with the need for genuine efficiencies – but not cost-driven cuts.

“It is a myth that all public servants are bureaucrats working in backroom offices. Government priorities on the environment, transport, defence and health can only be delivered by professionals. They are the true front line and they are all public servants. They must not fall victim to swingeing attacks on waste and bureaucracy. They need more resources, not less.

“The government’s programme of change will not succeed unless it takes civil and public servants with them. It needs to engage more effectively with its own staff and their representatives or their plans are doomed to fail.”

The First Division Association, the body that represent senior civil servants yesterday expressed "considerable concern" at the Budget announcement of cuts in jobs.

FDA General Secretary Jonathan Baume described the announcement as a "radical restructuring of the civil service".

"The Chancellor's announcements of major job cuts in many departments go considerably further than the plans we were already aware of. We will be insisting on urgent meetings with departments to consider the detail," he said.

"No one should underestimate the implications of these cuts for individual civil servants at all grades and their families. We see no justification whatsoever for any compulsory redundancies. To avoid this it will be essential that the government establishes a central mechanism for co-ordinating the implementation of these plans across all departments. The government also must recognise that during this period of considerable change it will be essential to avoid uncertainty and to maintain the motivation of staff so that they can continue to deliver high quality and efficient public services to the UK."

(SP)