Council has ‘no plans’ to cut workforce

It spoke out after another NI local authority - Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council - announced plans to cut agency and short-term workers due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Antrim and Newtownabbey - where more than 70 staff face the axe - said it needed to take action to balance the budget.

However, Derry City and Strabane District Council said all of its employees currently remain in employment.

A spokesperson said: “The vast majority of Council staff are able to are working from home, while critical service staff are continuing to provide frontline services such as refuse collection, street cleansing, enforcement, cemeteries and finance.

“Where possible, a significant number of Council staff have been redeployed to critical services to assist Council provide as many essential services during this emergency period.

“Since the beginning of the emergency and throughout the entire process, the Council has, and continues to, regularly consult, engage and communicate with its staff, unions and elected members.”

Meanwhile, NI Minister for Communities Deirdre Hargey is urging councils to “exhaust all options to protect workers”.

She said she shared councils’ concerns about their ongoing financial sustainability.

“But this is a time for careful consideration of all the options before taking action,” she said.

The minister said her officials were working closely with councils to understand their financial position and to see if they can make use of the government’s job retention scheme.

A spokesperson for the Northern Ireland Local Government Association (NILGA) indicated that there has been no definitive guidance from central government on the issue of ‘furloughing’ - paid leave - options for councils.