Antrim and Newtownabbey Council says compulsory redundancies ‘avoidable’

At the council’s full August meeting, it was confirmed 59 applications had been received for voluntary redundancy.

The local authority had proposed 68 redundancies in a bid to make financial savings of £3.3m.

Providing an update to this newspaper on Tuesday (December 1), a council spokesperson said: “The council had reluctantly agreed to introduce a package of measures to reduce expenditure next year which included spend on capital projects and other revenue and staffing costs.

“The process of working through the reduction in staff costs commenced in July and the council initiated a process of offering voluntary severance to employees.

“Having continued to work jointly with the trade unions over recent months, the council has identified a number of suitable vacancies and redeployment opportunities for employees affected by the proposed staff cost reductions.

“As a result of this, the council is now confident that through a process of redeployment, it can avoid the need for any compulsory redundancies.

“The significant trade union contribution throughout this entire process has been recognised and appreciated by the council during these unprecedented and challenging times.”

Prior to the pandemic, Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council estimated it would earn £52m through rates income.

However, the council is anticipating a drop in business rates of 35 per cent and a loss of £0.5m in domestic rates.

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