Dear Editor,
Well - as unbelievable as it may sound I promise you that the following is true. You couldn't make it up and if I didn't live in RCT I would think it out of the ordinary, but I do, and it's not.
As we all know RCT Council has cut the salaries, and the terms and conditions of staff on less than £42,000. That's now a lost cause, but most people will not know how they went about it and this is where the madness begins again; extremely expensive madness too.
Let me make a start with this; Rhondda Cynon Taff Council has paid the law company Evershed's £496,552 since 2008 for them to give 'opinions on points of law'. Now keep in mind that RCT has a whole Legal Department of its own with a Legal & Democratic Officer leading that department who is being paid (notice I didn't say "earning") almost £100,000 per annum. In concert with this, and because this encompasses the Human Resources Department, again we have a man in charge there being paid almost £100,000 per annum. Their salaries and all departmental costs are paid for out of the (our) public pocket. Please also keep in mind that this £496,552 was also once upon a time RCT tax payers money. It's not any more of course because that nice little earner is now in the bank account of Evershed's.
However here is the really sickening part. A whole £95,739 of that near half a million paid to this law firm related specifically to a obtaining an 'opinion on law' that actually gave RCT the legal sanctuary to force the staff to accept the pay cuts and poorer working conditions they have now imposed. They actually spent almost £100,000 of our money so that they would be able to cover their backs and feel legally safe in order to carry out their 'tough love' cuts for those who are at the sharp end and actually do the job for the people; home carers, school dinner ladies, bin men etc. It's sickening beyond measure, but it is RCT after all so should I truly be surprised? Probably not.
On saying that there's a couple of nagging questions that it raises for me: (a) Why are we employing a lawyer on a salary of almost £100,000 per year to lead a Legal Department that can't or won't give an opinion on a matter of law? and (b) Why are we employing a head of Human Resources again on near £100,000 to lead a Human Resources Department that can't or won't give an opinion on employment matters? Is it beyond them? If it is then what are they doing in post? What are we paying them for?
In the end though and I do hope this doesn't come as too much of a shock to Russell Roberts and his Labour Party colleagues and apologists (and no doubt another hagiography or two on the wonders of our Labour Leader will be winging their way to your pages shortly) but I really don't want my rates money spent on incredibly expensive and unnecessary legal opinion so that they can cut the wages and conditions of those at the bottom. Strange really because I must admit that if the cuts were aimed at those at the top then I would definitely have little hesitation. Well, as long as it didn't include wasting vast amounts of rate payers money of course.
Graeme Beard.
Chairman RCT Residents Action Group.
(19, Coed Isaf Road, Maesycoed, Pontypridd. CF37 1EL. Tel: 01443650478 or 07789761151)
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