GHA threatens large-scale redundancies by 2005/6

Glasgow Housing Association has given the strongest indication yet that it may make large numbers of staff redundant in the next two years.

Britain’s largest registered social landlord, which employs about 2000 people, raised the topic of redundancies in a consultation paper sent to unions Unison and GMB last Friday.

The document, which deals with ways GHA can make efficiency savings, includes proposals to offer employees voluntary redundancy and early retirement. It does not suggest numbers but GHA is committed to cutting staff costs by 4% in 2005/6.

GHA’s staffing costs for the year to April 2004 were estimated to be £46.8m. To meet its 4% cost reduction target, GHA will have to cut its staffing bill by about £1.8m next year.

A spokesman for GHA said the document was no more than a “consolidation of thoughts on workforce planning”.

“The paper gives an idea of the kinds of things we are looking at,” he added. “But there are no concrete figures as yet. We have to give people a chance to respond.”

A Unison spokesman predicted GHA employees would rush to take voluntary retirement because “staff morale is so low”.

He said: “It’s turning into a nightmare scenario, working for a body whose aim is to not exist within the next few years.”

GHA, which took over 80,000 council homes in March 2003 from Glasgow council, plans to carry out a programme of secondary transfers to local housing organisations in the next 10 years.

The redundancy proposals are part of the RSL’s wider review of its business plan, which is due to be completed by the end of this year.

The plan may have to change if a study to be conducted by GHA into housing demand in the city concludes that fewer people are likely to need social housing in future.

This would encourage GHA to demolish more than the 14,000 homes it has already pledged to remove.

Higher levels of demolition would eat into GHA’s future income stream and increase pressure to scale back its workforce.

The association is already hiring contract staff to fill some vacancies rather than make permanent appointments.