Financial Crisis at Shire Hall

Staff forced to take pay cut

Cambridgeshire County Council has forced many of its staff to take three days of unpaid leave as it tries to stave off financial
meltdown.

The council, which has been led by the Conservatives for more than twenty years, has become notorious for failing to raise the income it needs to cover the cost of inflation.

At the County Council meeting on 11 December, the Lib Dems voted against the Conservatives’ imposition of a 1.2% pay cut on many council staff.

The cut will affect both full-time staff earning £26,000 or more but also part-time staff on an equivalent pay band but
taking home very much less.

Conservatives protect own pay rise

The Lib Dems also proposed that the massive 30% pay rise the Conservatives voted themselves last year be reconsidered by the Independent Remuneration Panel. But the Conservatives voted this proposal down while agreeing to a 1.2% cut.

As this newspaper goes to press, it is not clear how the financial crisis will hit the crucial County Council budgets.