Trade unionists are questioning why Labour comrades running the council would ‘risk so much, for no return’ by continuing the former Tory administration’s policy of outsourcing and privatising services.
West Cheshire Trades Union Council (TUC) cites the recent experience with council-owned company Cosocius Ltd which made £800,000 losses and is being brought back in-house.
That’s why the TUC can’t understand a recent decision to ‘push’ 700 school catering and cleaning staff from Cheshire West and Chester Council (CWaC) into a new joint company called Edsential, along with 500 Wirral Council staff.
The TUC finds the move even more puzzling because CWaC made £1m from the services last year, while the same services in Wirral ‘just broke even’.
A cabinet report reveals £2m-plus start-up costs, up to £700,000 in redundancy pay-outs and a potential £450,000 annual loss on support services for the company. Employer pension contributions, paid by the company, could rise by £300,000 per year.
If all goes well, West Cheshire council taxpayers will get most of the start-up costs back at the end of five years – if the projected growth rate of 4% is achieved – but any additional savings would be passed to schools.
Cecilia Jones, secretary of West Cheshire TUC, said: “We have seen the failure of the council’s payroll and ICT company, Cosocius, established jointly with Cheshire East Council, after just 18 months of operation.
“Now we see another adventure with high up-front costs, hugely optimistic growth projections, but in this case little or no projected benefit to council taxpayers. It is hard to understand why, when the council is desperate to make savings, they would again risk so much, for no return.”
West Cheshire TUC’s view is that what had originally been a Conservative proposal ‘pursued on purely ideological grounds’, offered ‘no benefits’ to staff or schools and ‘should have been ditched’.
The TUC is also concerned Labour is considering privatising street cleaning and grounds maintenance services. And its members believe a decision to re-tender the housing management contract for council housing in Ellesmere Port and Neston, at a cost of £350,000, is ‘a bad decision’, ‘taken without proper discussion’ with unions.
The local TUC has requested a meeting with senior Labour councillors as part of the consultation around the council’s budget proposals.
Labour council leader Clllr Samantha Dixon said in a statement that her administration had established ‘good working relationships’ with trade union representatives.
She commented: “The Labour administration is fully committed to delivering the best outcomes for Cheshire West residents as well as recognising the importance of the staff delivering the services. The council is currently consulting on the top priorities for the council’s next four years and the consultation finishes on Wednesday, January 6. The views of the West Cheshire Trades Council will be included in this consultation.”
She added: “The matters concerning Edsential and the decision concerning the management of the council housing were carefully considered by the cabinet as well as the wider council membership through the new Policy and Performance Panels.
“Members of the public are able to attend and speak at both these meetings although restricted and commercially sensitive material was considered in private session. Decisions relating to Cosocius were made by the Shared Services committee of Cheshire East and West which was also held in public. In all cases, decisions are taken with the best interests of residents and staff at the forefront of the cabinet’s deliberations.”
