Antrim and Newtownabbey Council’s Emergency Financial Plan backed by all bar one party

Alliance, DUP, Independent, Sinn Fein and UUP backed the proposal, which paved the way for job losses, with the SDLP opposed.

Following the behind closed doors meeting at Mossley Mill on Monday afternoon, Dunsilly SDLP Councillor Ryan Wilson, who was not in attendance, said he was proud his party had not supported the plan and called on others to reveal how they voted and explain their decision.

The result of the vote was made public on the council’s website yesterday (Thursday).

Before the vote those present were informed the current reduction in income during the coronavirus pandemic was having an immediate impact on the council’s cash flow.

A council spokesperson said: “Unless measures were put in place now to mitigate the deficit situation and to make up for the potential loss in rate income in 2020/21, it was anticipated there would be a substantial rate increase next year (2021/22).

“It was noted that to cover for every £1million deficit there would be an additional two per cent rate increase.”

The motion was moved by Ald Mark Cosgrove (UUP) and seconded by Ald Phillip Brett (DUP) that the council approves the Emergency Financial Plan and a report on action to be taken brought to a future meeting of the council.

It was backed by Ald Brett (DUP), Ald Cosgrove (UUP), Cllr Anne Marie Logue (Sinn Fein), Cllr Michael Stewart (Independent) and Cllr Billy Webb (Alliance).

Cllr Noreen McClelland (SDLP) voted against. There were no abstentions.

On Tuesday the local authority said 73 posts were to be lost as part of the Emergency Financial Plan. However, in a statement issued yesterday afternoon, a council spokesperson said it will defer the proposal to release 46 short-service staff.

A total of 27 positions, understood to be agency workers, are still set to go.

NIPSA official Natalie Sheil welcomed the developments. “However we are very disappointed that the council did not look into these options before making such ruthless decisions about people’s livelihoods,” she said.

Kieran Ellison, Unite Regional Officer welcomed the announcement.

He said: “This decision gives time to investigate alternatives; in particular the option of furloughing council employees under the Government’s Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS).

“Management at Antrim and Newtownabbey previously chose to discount the direction issued by the Treasury on eligibility for the CJRS and instead relied upon the earlier guidelines issued by HMRC which had been superseded by the direction. By comparison, other councils actively pursued the option of furloughing workers through the scheme – meaning workers were safeguarded from potential redundancy.

“The Ministers in the Northern Ireland Executive must now take advantage of this window of opportunity and move quickly to clarify matters. Unite has written to the Ministers for Community (with responsibility for local authorities), Finance and Economy to request such clarification be provided on an urgent basis.

“Our Regional Secretary Jackie Pollock has also written to the Chancellor of the Exchequer and the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland; given that the CJRS is primarily a Treasury scheme the onus is on the Treasury to explicitly include the public sector in its guidelines as opposed to not just pointedly excluding them.”

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