The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
NTS accused of ‘shambolic’ redundancy talks
The National Trust for Scotland (NTS) was accused of a “shambolic” redundancy consultation, despite the possibility of a Scottish Government lifeline.
The heritage charity, which has lost £30 million due to the coronavirus pandemic, described the situation as “the worst crisis it has ever faced”.
A business case which contained the full extent of the financial crisis and a funding request was lodged with the Scottish Government two weeks ago.
No decision has yet been made by the Scottish Government on any funding, which is likely to be dependent on some jobs being retained.
A request to extend a consultation with staff until today to take into account the Scottish Government position was declined, according to union, Prospect.
Richard Hardy, Prospect’s national secretary for Scotland and Ireland, said: “If we are to have a proper consultation, we need to know the full scope of the situation.
“In 30 years of doing this job, I have seen some pretty shambolic consultation processes and this is close to the worst.
“It feels very much that NTS are simply going through the motions with the consultation.”
Philip Long, the new chief executive of the National Trust for Scotland, said he understood the union’s concerns and hoped that “vital aid” would be made available by the government.
Mr Long said: “But simply put, this is the worst crisis the trust has ever faced and difficult decisions are inevitable and must be taken as soon as we can if we are to stave off an even worse crisis.
“For that reason, our consultation was carried out on the basis that no external funding may be forthcoming and what then would be necessary to save the trust – if external funding is forthcoming, it would certainly allow us to see the prospect of a faster recovery, but we cannot count on that.”
A Scottish Government spokesman said it was considering the business case put forward by NTS, with a meeting with the charity due “shortly” to discuss it.