Almost 60 staff take early retirement at Blackburn with Darwen Council (From This Is Lancashire)

Almost 60 staff take early retirement at Blackburn with Darwen Council

11:00am Wednesday 3rd March 2010

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ALMOST 60 staff have left Blackburn with Darwen Council after being offered early retirement.

Bosses insist the £1.5million cost-saving measure will not affect vital services.

But opposition councillors said there could be hidden costs, and remaining staff would be overworked.

It is understood the 58 departures include some senior staff earning more £50,000, and others on less than £20,000.

It comes after the ruling coalition of Conservative, Liberal Democrat and For Darwen Parties agreed the budget for next year, which includes a 1.9per cent council tax rise.

All staff over 50 were offered the chance to apply for early retirement before the rules on local government pensioners were tightened.

Tory resources chief Colin Rigby said each application had been carefully assessed and a number had been rejected for fear of affecting services.

He said: “There were plenty of cases where we couldn’t grant the request, because of staffing levels. or specific expertise.”

Bosses estimate the cost of implementing the early retirements – incl-uding extra pension payments – will be £800,000 next year.

Labour resources spok-esman Dave Harling said: “If there are 60 people you can do without, what have they been doing all this time?

“They are not sitting around idle.

“Work they were doing will now be pushed onto other staff.”

Departments across the council have been ordered to look for ways to reduce their spending as bosses prepare for the uncertainty of the following year’s budget, when town halls will almost certainly face government funding cuts.

At a full council meeting on Monday night, opposition Lab-our councillors criticised some of the planned savings, including a reduction in grass-cutting and anticipated job losses resulting from a “service review”.

But Coun Rigby said he was “proud” of the budget, claiming the council was working hard to help the borough through the economic slump, adding he would work to avoid job losses.

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