Things do not smell right at WBC… again

IT is concerning and disappointing to read that West Berkshire

Council are considering redundancies (Newbury Weekly News, January 28).

While WBC like to see themselves as frontrunners, I am concerned they are jumping the gun in reducing head count in arguably the most demanding time for local and national authorities responding to global pandemic.

Furthermore, this does not appear to be being conducted or

rationalised for cost-saving reasons, which begs the question, what is going on?

In fact, it will increase costs in the settlement payments.

While the council state they need to have cost savings, this decision and the increase in allowances for councillors seems to contradict their strategy.

Will councillor Doherty be outlining what short- and long-term benefits redundancies are to have on the delivery of their strategy, services and staff and constituency wellbeing?

The council need to be transparent in their rational and processes for the reaching of this decisions.

I certainly feel, from my past observation of other companies tackling redundancies, that this could be a testing of the waters. As such without appropriate challenge and transparency I feel more could lose their jobs with no consolation with its constituents and undoubtedly degrade an already strained service.

I do hope that WBC have sought appropriate legal advice from experts in these fields without any conflicts of interest.

After all, let us not forget that a High Court ruling has indicated this has not always been the case at WBC, which too, has led to wasting of money.

WBC does not leave me with a warm fuzzy feeling that this will be managed properly.

I give my distant support for those individuals going through such an awful, and I hope not unnecessary, stressful process.

GEMMA LOWE

Newbury Clay Hill