Councils looking to reduce workforce
It has been revealed that councils up and down the UK are looking to reduce their workforce by up to 170,000 in what will be the biggest reduction in local council spending for many years. While there has been little public comment from councils, privately they expect budget reductions in the region of 15% over the next three years as the UK government looks to tackle the budget deficit.
Despite the fact that the Conservative party is under pressure for highlighting the need to cut public services in the short to medium term it would appear that Gordon Brown and Alistair Darling are also looking at the same move. There is no doubt that the public sector investment in the UK will be reduced significantly in the short to medium term as the UK authorities need to replenish government funding for the future.
As a consequence, we are likely to see ever-growing friction between local councils, the government and the unions. It is highly likely we will see industrial action become more commonplace over the next few years as the battle to reduce public sector spending continues. This is an area of the UK economy which has mushroomed under Gordon Brown's stewardship.
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