LTC Under Fire

TORY Councillors at Leigh Town Council have come under fire from Claire Wormald, a spokesperson for Southend’s Local Government Branch of UNISON.

In a press release issued by Ms Wormald it is stated that: “Every member of the office, administration and caretaking staff at Leigh-on-Sea Town Council have now raised official grievances about their treatment” at the hands of the Councillors.

Ms Wormald’s press release states: “Staff report that since the suspension of the Town Clerk they have faced councillors trying to enter offices and order staff about and behaving in a bullying and aggressive way.”

The release adds: “The Town Clerk was suspended from work based on allegations which UNISON hotly disputes and councillors have now thrown around accusations of fraud and incompetence in council meetings. Virtually every member of staff now feels undermined and alienated by this behaviour.”

Ms Wormald added: “They (the Tory Councillors) seem to have steamed in regardless of rules or good staff relations. They now have no Town Clerk, have failed to make decisions and policies in a way that can actually be acted on, and have managed to disrupt normal council meetings and activities without any positive result that we can see.

“Who knows how much it will have already cost already to employ a locum town clerk and to pay HR consultants to conduct investigations?

“Our members don’t deserve to come to work not knowing if they will be treated with respect. When they raise concerns, they need to know they will be addressed following the council’s own policies and procedures, to say nothing of the law.

“UNISON are backing our members in standing up for their rights. We believe that as a matter of urgency, the Town Clerk should be reinstated and councillors should work with this very loyal and dedicated team of staff to repair relations and get on with serving the residents of Leigh-on-Sea.”

The Leigh On Sea News replied to Ms Wormald asking for confirmation that UNISON had had the benefit of discussing these matters with the councillors the accusations were being made about. We also asked for specific details of the allegations made against the Town Clerk that UNISON ‘hotly disputes’, along with evidence to support the other allegations she has made. At the time of writing, Ms Wormald has not responded.

Bernard Arscott, Chairman of Leigh Town Council, said: “We have only just been made aware of the press release issued yesterday (Monday October 9) by UNISON, released without prior warning and before we were given the opportunity to respond to the accusations.

“We do not recognise the description of the Leigh-on-Sea Town Council and strongly refute the allegations being made. We are unable to comment on staffing matters in any event.”

Coun Arscott has previously stated, on a number of occasions, that the Council cannot comment on staffing matters for legal and confidentiality reasons.

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