Scrapping public sector jobs costs more than it saves, claims Unison study

Published on 28/12/2010 20:54

MAKING just one council worker redundant costs thousands of pounds in lost taxes and revenue, and in benefits payments, according to a new report.

• "Demand in shops and businesses plummets" - Dave Prentice

The study by public sector union Unison describes the cost of job cuts as "shocking".

Union leaders urged the UK government to think again about its austerity measures, warning that heavy job losses in the public sector were hitting vital services and damaging the country's chances of economic recovery.

The union calculated a council worker earning 20,000 a year paid almost 5,000 in taxes and national insurance but would cost more than 11,000 in benefits, such as Jobseeker's Allowance and child tax credit, and lost revenue.

Dave Prentis, Unison general secretary, said: "Sacking public sector workers makes no sense at all. The figures don't stack up. The government might make short-term savings by cutting jobs but they soon lose out in the longer term.

"Communities too pay dearly, as services they rely on vanish, and as demand in local shops and businesses plummets, hitting economic recovery.

"Up and down the country, hard working families are paying with their jobs for a recession they did nothing to cause. The government's austerity measures threaten to drag our country to the brink, increasing the gap between the rich and the poor, pricing people out of further education, and hitting people's life chances."

The Scottish Government, in its recent budget, has delayed axing public services by a year but widespread cuts are expected after that.