Adelaide City Council approves 2020/21 budget with $14 million set aside for redundancies
More jobs are set to go after Adelaide City Council approved its multi-million budget and restructure. Some councillors dubbed the move “cruel”, “inappropriate” and “madness”.
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Adelaide City Council will cough up $14m on redundancy packages after approving its $237m annual budget at a special meeting on Thursday night.
The council approved the budget, which aims to save $20m in operational costs by mostly reducing its 800-strong workforce.
About 40 council employees and members of the Australian Services Union SA and NT protested in front of the Town Hall, pleading for their jobs to be spared.
It comes as a report presented to council earlier in the week said 159 staff had already lost their jobs in the past six months, which Cr Phillip Martin dubbed a “job massacre”.
Adelaide chief executive Mark Goldstone said the savings would help the council improve its financial position. He said no specific numbers or targets had been proposed for the positions that had been impacted.
“As much as I don’t like the idea of having to respond to a requirement to find $20m, as much as I don’t like the idea of having to reduce staff, the fact is we have a financial challenge we have to address … a $36.4m deficit that is enormous,” Mr Goldstone said.
“We have to do something and the requirement to find $20m will go some way to correcting our financial position.”
“I also want to reiterate that going forward there is no specific number or target proposed for positions that will be impacted.”
In an email sighted by The Advertiser, jobs cut this week included a print operator, consumer insights officer, lighting designer and injury management co-ordinator.
Cr Anne Moran said job cuts were inappropriate and “cruel” during a pandemic.
Cr Moran, who walked out of the meeting and did not vote, said the council should consider cutting ”unnecessary” projects before jobs.
“To quote Jane Lomax-Smith, there will be rats running in the streets by the end of this,” Cr Moran said.
“The blood will be on your hands.”
Cr Phillip Martin said the cuts were “disgraceful” and “madness”, and predicted about 25 per cent of the workforce would go.
“Find other ways of getting savings like through natural attrition, do it through reducing some services where there is no substantial impacts on ratepayers,” Cr Martin said.
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The council also discussed a report into how its organisation would be restructured to cope with the impacts of the COVID-19.
Structural changes will begin in January 2021.
Deputy Lord Mayor Alexander Hyde asked the council to provide support services for staff with jobs on the line.
“It is never easy having to reduce one’s staff, I have had to do it before,” Cr Hyde said.
“You can proceed accordingly in a kind and compassionate way which reaffirms the council’s commitment to support (its) people,” Cr Hyde said.
Australian Services Union SA secretary Scott Cowen said “now was the time to be investing in local jobs”.