Gloom hangs over council jobs

Dark skies loom over Oldham Civic Centre

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DOZENS of jobs are on the line at Oldham Council as bosses strive to make savings of £30 million by 2017.

An internal memo sent to councillors by Emma Alexander, executive director of corporate and commercial services, reveals which departments could face cuts to save the first £10 million of the £30 million savings needed over the next two years.

These include losing 30 posts from corporate and commercial services, 20 posts from health and wellbeing and seven posts from co-operative and neighbourhoods. Unions and staff are now being consulted on the best course of action.

Mrs Alexander says: “By the end of 2017 we will have had over £205 million taken from our budget — over half our funding. As part of a two-year process for 2015-17, we have achieved the £35 million savings for 2015/16 and proposals have now been developed to deliver £10 million of the £30 million required for 2016/17.”

Councillor Abdul Jabbar, cabinet member for finance and human resources, said: “I would like to stress these are only potential job losses as we are at a very early stage of the budget planning process. They are part of a package of options we are considering. Staffing costs, like those of other councils nationwide, are a big part of our overall budget. It is inevitable that we have to explore the potential for savings in this area. Everything possible will be done to minimise the need for any compulsory redundancies.”