Aberdeen council bosses face calls for dismissal over controversial “fire and rehire” tactics, sparking union outrage.
Basically, two councils considered this action. Aberdeen City Council is one of them. “Fire and rehire” means sacking staff, then re-hiring them under worse conditions.
Aberdeen staff protested outside council buildings. West Dunbartonshire Council also thought about it. Louise Gilmour from GMB Scotland spoke out, saying it’s like bullying workers.
Gilmour claims it’s only done by bad private companies and that decent employers wouldn’t do this. It goes against fair work guidelines, she explained. Also, it may break upcoming UK laws.
Aberdeen City Council and West Dunbartonshire wanted new contracts to cut costs for the council.
West Dunbartonshire dropped the threat. However, Aberdeen still considers it. Unions fear frontline workers will suffer most.
A GMB delegate, Annette Drylie, called it unjustifiable and said leaders using this should resign. Aberdeen wants a shorter work week, which could mean pay freezes and big losses.
The council says they need to save money. Reducing hours helps avoid job cuts, they stated.