Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Impending budget cuts ‘ripping heart out’ from Angus arts

The union has warned that arts cuts will impact on envied cultural assets like the Meffan in Forfar.
The union has warned that arts cuts will impact on envied cultural assets like the Meffan in Forfar.

A union has warned Angus Council it is in danger of “ripping the heart out of local arts” with prospective budget cuts.

GMB Scotland has criticised the local authority’s decision to review the posts of museum and gallery staff, despite a full calendar of events booked for the coming year.

Senior management at the council’s arms-length trust, Angus Alive, have started a consultation process and told the staff affected to expect a decision on their future by December, after the council imposed a budget cut of £36,000.

The GMB said the council “reneged” on its originally agreed cut of £16,000 — but the local authority said no decision has been reached.

Almost 600 staff working in leisure centres, swimming pools, museums, libraries and other facilities moved to the trust on December 1 last year.

It is understood five members of staff may be affected.

Council chiefs gave an assurance that there are no plans to cut posts under the new arrangement.

The union said the affected staff, with more than 80 years of experience in design and exhibition between them, have been “pivotal” in the growth of the arts in the Angus area, particularly at the Meffan Institute in Forfar.

The gallery/museum has gained a fine reputation in the arts community and houses local artefacts.

GMB organiser Helen Meldrum said: “It makes no sense to impose these cuts when the trust has a full year of exhibitions confirmed and will require the expertise of the staff to ensure its success.

“We’ve been told by Angus Alive that the £14,000 figure is a legacy cut, agreed prior to the trust taking responsibility for local culture, sport and leisure services but nobody can give us any answers on why that amount has now more than doubled.

“Our members care deeply about their work and the reputation of the arts in Angus.

“They have delivered an incredible public service of national renown for next to nothing but now the council are in danger of unravelling this for a relatively meagre saving.

“GMB Scotland is calling on Angus Council to think again as they are in serious danger of ripping the heart out of local arts.”

A spokesman for Angus Alive said: “A service review is currently ongoing to address a legacy budget saving which was already committed prior to the establishment of the trust.

“No decisions have been reached and we will consult with employees and their union representatives during this process.

“Should any reduction in employees or employee hours be necessary, we would hope to achieve this through voluntary redundancy or early retirement.

“Staff would also be eligible for redeployment.”