Ernie Clark. Hilperton Division, Wiltshire Council.

I wonder if the Chief Exec at WC will volunteer to take a pay cut?

Wiltshire Council leader Jane Scott has outlined a number of ways the council intends to make its staff bear the burden of getting the council out of its financial mess.

In a message to council staff, chief executive Andrew Kerr claims £8million can be saved this financial year by getting rid of 240 managers, and £5.5m will be cut from budgets by using fewer temporary and agency staff.

A further £2.5m will be taken from staff by cutting car mileage allowances, cutting the bonuses paid to staff in departments where recruitment was difficult in the past, reducing overtime payments, removing anti-social hours payments, withdrawing subsidised lease cars, cutting back on incremental pay increases, and raising £500,000 by making staff pay for car parking.

Unions have been threatened with further job losses should they not agree to these proposals and, this is the icing on the cake, individual staff have been 'warned' not to speak to the media about the cuts.