06.07.15
Bromley Council staff to hold fourth wave of strikes
A fourth wave of strikes is set to hit Bromley Council over its plans to carry out a “mass privatisation” of services.
Unite members at Bromley’s adult services and transport workers will hold a two day strike starting at 00:01 hours on 7 July, and library staff will stage a three day strike from the same time.
The council is accelerating plans to privatise a number of services, including learning disabilities, which will go to Certitude. On 1 June, the parks service was transferred to the Landscape Group, which announced that immediately after the transfer it would be making redundancies.
Bromley is also considering the privatisation of 14 libraries, replacing staff with unpaid volunteers and handing the libraries over to charities. On top of this, the Conservative-led local authority has plans to reduce the number of employees from 4,000 to 300.
Unite regional officer Onay Kasab said: “Our campaign has taken to the streets and won massive support from the Bromley community – people do not want their services privatised. Petitions, surveys and the council’s own consultation exercise show this to be the case.
“The recent fantastic march through the borough, involving service users, disabled residents and children sent a very clear message.”
As well as the strike action, Unite members on Wednesday 8 July, Budget Day, will be demonstrating at Parliament Square from 13.00 against council cuts.
PSE reported recently that plans by Bromley Council to spend close to £10.2m buying commercial property, even as it proposes privatisation measures, have come under severe criticism.
Tell us what you think – have your say below or email [email protected]