Union fury as city council reveals 300 jobs are to go

Senior and middle-managers are expected to be targeted in the cull, which is expected to save the local authority 16 million over the next three years.

It has refused to rule out compulsory redundancies as part of the cost-cutting drive, although other measures will include reducing temporary staff, leaving vacancies unfilled and early retirement.

Staff were given no warning of the cuts before an official announcement was made and public sector union Unison claims it was kept in the dark by senior councillors.

It accused council leader Jenny Dawe of shedding "crocodile tears" over the job losses, branding them "an ideological attack on public services and the people who rely on them".

The council brought forward the job cuts - which are expected to affect all departments - from next February, when it normally sets its budget, in a bid to minimise disruption. However many jobs are unlikely to be axed until the next financial year, 2011-12.

The council is faced with having to make up to 140 million worth of savings over the next three years, although the final figure will not be known until later this year.

Ms Dawe said: "The harsh reality of the UK budget deficit requires us to confront some very difficult decisions.

"We recognise just how concerning this is for staff and we will critically examine the proposals received from directors. We will do all we can to support staff and to protect the valued and vital services they deliver for the people of Edinburgh."

However John Stevenson, president of Unison's council branch in Edinburgh, said: "Only yesterday union negotiators met the council leader and no mention was made of these cuts.

"Secondly, despite what the council claims, we were not being briefed on these unnecessary cuts.

"And thirdly, we are not convinced by the crocodile tears of the council leader. It is her coalition government that is forcing through cuts that the economists who actually predicted the crisis say are not needed and will put the economy into an even bigger mess.

"These cuts have nothing to do with the deficit, they are purely and simply an ideological attack on public services and the people who rely on them.

"Our members have delivered up to 90m in savings in the last four years. They have helped the council win award after award including being shortlisted for 'council of the year'. This is a disgraceful way to treat them."

Meanwhile the city council has proposed a further 550,000 worth of savings by merging its payroll and human resources departments.

Six management posts across the two departments will go by the end of this year, saving an annual total of 260,000.

A further 15 redundancies are also planned among payroll administrators and customer assistants under a later stage of the merger, which will provide a further 300,000 of savings.

Phil Wheeler, the city's finance leader, said: "This is a perfect example of the kind of change we need to make to move forward.

"Working smarter is something we must all do now to provide extra value for money."