UNISON says it will fight compulsory job losses at local councils during the reorganisation process.

The union, which represents many ‘rank and file’ workers, says it will also try and ensure that services to the public are protected as the councils merge to form one unitary council for the rural county in April 2019.

“Any savings needed should not be at the expense of staff or local services.”

“We will continue to negotiate with the employers and keep staff involved both before and after 1 April 2019,” said joint branch secretary Amanda Brown.

“UNISON are insisting that meaningful and proper consultation is in place and that we will not be hurried into processes which could be detrimental to the thousands of people who work in the council. We will ensure due process is observed and the Councils meets legal obligations regardless of time frames. We will do all that we can to combat any potential compulsory job losses and attempts to undermine current terms and conditions.”

“Unison continues to seek to positively engage with all the current employers and the Shadow Council to ensure that the transition to the new Unitary Council is carried out with the least disruption to staff and local services as possible. We have been meeting with staff in workplaces across Dorset over the last few weeks to reassure them that we are holding the employers to account around the future employment , terms and conditions and the provision of services.”

The shadow Dorset Council executive heard this week that it is not possible at the moment to quantify the likely level of job losses until the new structures of the Dorset Council has been agreed. The main savings from reorganisation will be in salary costs, through a reduction in posts.

A previous report anticipated more than 200 posts disappearing from management grades as a result of the changes.

The only appointment made for the new organisation so far is Chief Executive Matt Prosser with advertisements to be issued shortly for four department heads and a council monitoring officer.

The shadow executive heard at a meeting in Dorchester on Monday that it would only be after those positions were filled that the requirement for the next level of management could be agreed and advertised – expected to be in January.

It is thought that the majority of staff below that level with simply transfer to the new council in April 2019 after which some will be expected to be asked to interview for their own jobs.

The earliest any redundancies are anticipated is June although some staff will be invited to apply for early retirement or voluntary release prior to that.