More than 635 council posts have been axed by Dundee City Council since 2010 with more than £11 million spent on redundancy payments.
West End Liberal Democrat councillor Fraser Macpherson has obtained figures revealing how many voluntary redundancies have occurred each year since 2010/11.
There were 227 posts shed that year — the most in a single year — with redundancy payouts totally more than £4.7 million.
The figures exclude teaching staff.
Since 2010 the average payout to staff taking voluntary redundancy or early retirement is £17,332.
Mr Macpherson said: “Over the past decade, local authorities have been faced with unprecedented budget cuts as a result of the austerity measures and deeply disappointing local government finance settlements in recent years.
“The loss of 635 staff here in Dundee alone obviously has a negative effect on service provision and – it should be remembered – additional pressure on the remaining staff and on council services.
“Whilst Dundee City Council has rightly avoided any compulsory redundancies with posts reduced through voluntary redundancy and retirement, there has also been a very significant cost for this level of job losses – some £11.005 million since 2010 – with the taxpayer picking up this cost.
“If there is one lesson to learn from this is the need for better funding settlement for local authorities in Scotland in the coming years if vital services are to be maintained. We absolutely cannot accept a policy that local authorities are forced to simply manage decline.”
But council leader John Alexander said: “It is no secret that councils the length and breadth of the country have been releasing staff through voluntary early retirement or redundancy schemes over the last few years.
“I would also note that during some of that period, it was a Liberal Democrat/ Conservative coalition leading the charge with the austerity agenda so Councillor Macpherson would be wise not to whitewash that fact.
The SNP councillor added: “Voluntary early retirement schemes have been fundamental to restructuring services and making them more efficient, balancing budgets and opening up opportunities for some younger staff.
“The figure equates to less than 80 per year but more importantly, we only agree to those where it is in the taxpayers’ interest and won’t have a significant impact on services being provided. There is a thorough assessment carried out prior to any agreement and it is certainly not a free for all.
“A tiny proportion of our around 6000 staff are currently under the age of 30. It’s absolutely essential that we have a good balance of experience across age groups but also create opportunities for younger people to come into the council to future proof our workforce.
“It’s not only about balancing budgets, although there is no getting away from the fact that this is one driver, it’s also about providing staff who want to leave the council an opportunity to do so.
“We have and continue to avoid compulsory redundancies and all of those staff that left the council have done so on a voluntary basis.”
A Dundee City Council spokeswoman added: “The council has agreed procedures for offering voluntary early retirement or voluntary redundancy which includes careful scrutiny of cost and the impact on service delivery.
“There is regular discussion with the trade unions on this issue.”
A Scottish Government spokesman said: “Despite continued UK Government cuts to Scotland’s resource budget Dundee City Council will receive total funding of over £318 million for 2018-19. This is part of the £10.7 billion local government finance settlement which will provide a real terms boost in both revenue and capital funding.
“Our increased funding, plus extra council tax income, means that Dundee City Council will have an extra £11.7 million compared to 2017-18.”
