Job cuts reach far and wide...

THE spending cuts are beginning to bite — and they are on a scale without precedent since the Second World War 70 years ago. It is anticipated that 800 jobs will be lost directly by Oldham Council. The Unity Partnership, which provides some services for Oldham Council, will see 45 jobs lost. Here, writing exclusively for the Chronicle, Oldham West and Royton MP Michael Meacher takes a closer look.
IN reality, job losses go far wider and affect virtually every sector of public service.

Schools will be hit by reduced spending across the borough and the new requirement being imposed on them to take more responsibility for funding elements that were previously provided by the council.

As a result, it is expected that a further 150 jobs will be lost. And because of the abrupt termination of Housing Market Renewal in Derker and Werneth, 20 core jobs will be lost, but the impact on the construction industry will be far greater.

The Government’s withdrawal of some £40 million a year through closing down this programme will lead to about 600 building workers’ jobs being lost. Connexions, which provides several services on behalf of the council including careers advice, support for those not in education or employment or training, drug and alcohol abuse counselling, and youth services, is having its funding cut by £4million. This 40 per cent cut will result in around 40 jobs being lost.

The Area Based Grants which funded the voluntary sector, council services and health education jobs are being abolished. This £24 million cut will end 60 jobs in the public sector, 30 in the private sector and around 50 in the voluntary sector.

Council contracts are being severely cut back by up to 70 per cent in most capital programmes as well as in reduced maintenance contracts. Job losses in the private sector are conservatively estimated at around 100, plus about 40 voluntary sector posts will be at risk. In the police force there will be reductions in staff in Oldham of around 140 posts, leading inevitably to a significant reduction in service.

In education the sudden termination of the Building Schools for the Future programme has lost Oldham £100million. This will mean around 200 jobs lost in the construction industry.

New Deal for Communities, which has provided enhanced service and capital works in Fitton Hill and Hathershaw, is being terminated and will lead to 45 jobs being lost.

In the NHS, the Government is forcing the Primary Care Trust that holds the purse strings for the health service in Oldham to make cuts of 7 per cent each year for the next three years.

The Government calls these cuts “efficiency savings!”

In Oldham, this will amount to a £80million reduction in a total budget of £420million.

The significance of these figures is that in order merely to maintain existing health services, a 4-5 per cent per year increase is needed because of the growing aged population and the cost of new health technologies.

An annual 7 per cent cut in funding is therefore some 12 per cent below the minimum funding necessary merely to stay as we are.

Because 80 per cent of NHS costs go on staffing, the reductions being demanded by the Government will lead to 1,000 jobs being lost in health provision in Oldham.

In addition, capital developments in the community being secured by Oldham Primary Care Trust have been curtailed.

That will call a halt on an anticipated £40million new-build, leading to about 100 job losses in the private sector.

Furthermore, jobs in the civil service are to be culled by 25 per cent over the next three years. The local effect is difficult to calculate, but a conservative estimate would be around 200 job losses.

At regional level, the abolition of the Regional Development Agency and related changes have led to funding being reduced from £1.2billion to £345million annually.

In the private sector, areas like Oldham with a strong engineering background will be badly affected.

In particular the cancellation of NIMROD will hit aircraft development and construction and the associated component parts sector.

The impact on Oldham is likely to be the order of 200 job losses.

Altogether, that adds up to about 4,070 job losses in Oldham, including 2,600 in the public sector, 1,330 in the private sector and 140 in the voluntary sector.

What makes it so cruel is that all these job losses are being imposed on the victims of the financial crash while those who caused it — the bankers — are walking away scot-free and still awarding themselves £7billion this year in obscene bonuses.