Conservative councillor Tony Janio wants a “blitz” on council managers, of whom he claims there are 500 in the organisation (The Argus, December 18).
He says they are given the title to justify “a pay rise”, and that we can cut out “bureaucracy”.
I have to pinch myself, as I am sure this is the same Coun Janio who was part of the last Conservative administration, which begs the question: why didn’t he do this review back then and cut these bureaucrats down to size?
Could it be that they were needed then, and needed now?
Managers are paid anything from £18,000 at the bottom to £100,000-plus at the top.
Most are at the low end. For example, manager of a day centre for the elderly; manager of a group home for people with a learning disability; supervisor in a family centre.
And, yes, I am being selective, but at least I am using factual information, not the political slogans of cutting out “waste” from a councillor who has been around long enough to know some detail of how the council is made up.
These comments, made in advance of a horrendous budget imposed on this council by Coun Janio’s Government, are insulting to staff whose job is crucial to the most vulnerable in the city and who, in many cases, work unpaid hours to keep services at an acceptable level.
Alex Knutsen, Unison
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