WORCESTERSHIRE'S Labour MPs have responded to the county council's controversial employment plans to fire and rehire staff. 

Tom Collins, MP for Worcester, and Chris Bloore, MP for Redditch, have called for an immediate suspension of plans to 'fire and rehire' 150 Worcestershire County Council staff.

In a joint statement, the MPs said: "We are deeply concerned the current course of action could threaten the security of employees households, damage the goodwill of employees upon which the Council depends, and degrade the reputation of Worcestershire County Council as the flagship institution of our fine county."

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Earlier this month, the Local Democracy Reporting Service viewed documents that detailed plans to dismiss 150 council officials from their 37-hour contracts in October and re-hire them on 35-hour contracts.

The Public Service union, Unison, has condemned the practice by calling it "obscene".

The MPs continued: "It is also our view that such action would have a severe detrimental effect on the Council's performance, as staff insecurity would impact every single area of operations and the Council's ability to recruit and retain skilled and talented employers."

The Labour Party has pledged to ban the controversial scheme within 100 days of entering Government.

Mr Collins and Mr Bloore showed particular concern to the impact the policy may have on SEND provision by the council, an area where "systematic failings" in the area have been previously noted by standards agencies CQC and Ofsted.

The MPs said: "Furthermore, the recent area SEND inspection of Worcestershire Local Area Partnership by CQC and Ofsted has highlighted shortcomings in areas of SEND provision that would be directly impacted by the planned contract changes.

"It is extremely counter-productive to put key staff under additional pressure and uncertainty while we address the crisis in SEND provision."

The Conservative-run county council first introduced the scheme in 2011, with Boris Johnson's government previously blocking plans to ban the practice in 2021.

Mr Collins and Mr Bloore added: "All of us are united in our shared desire to see Worcestershire County Council succeeding in its mission and serving the people of Worcestershire, including Council employees, in the very best possible way.

"We look forward to constructive, open and forward-looking discussions."