Dozens of Bristol City Council officers are facing the axe with some having to reapply for roles that don’t yet exist at the West of England Combined Authority (Weca), sparking alarm from unions and opposition groups. It is understood up to 100 jobs could be cut in strategic transport and city design, with proposals branded “worrying” and “dangerous” set to come before cabinet next month.
The council says the Government’s 2016 devolution deal that set up Weca put the combined authority in charge of the region’s transport but that “Covid and other pressures delayed the transfer of those powers and functions” from City Hall. It is “now seeking to move this situation along to ensure these strategic functions sit in the right place”, having not done so in the six years since then despite persistent calls from transport campaigners and when it now faces a gigantic budget blackhole and needs to save millions of pounds.
But Bristol Live understands there will be no automatic transfer to Weca via TUPE employment regulations that protect pay and conditions, and everyone affected would be made redundant and have to apply for about 30 newly-created roles. The future of staff in the city design team is less certain and appears to be part of a wider restructure of the planning department, with no obvious place for them in Weca.
