The National Trust for Scotland (NTS) is consulting with unions on axing more than a quarter of its full-time staff under a multi-million pound cost-cutting drive, as reports from mainstream press and civil sectors highlight potential threats to core heritage objectives.
The NTS writes:
Scotland’s largest conservation charity, the 350,000-member National Trust for Scotland, has begun formal consultation on significant changes to its structure as well as proposals to invest tens of millions of pounds in its iconic heritage properties, its systems and people.
The changes are part of the Trust’s strategy to widen its appeal, encourage more people to visit and enjoy the heritage in its care, increase membership and generate more income for investment in conservation. more….
The Scotsman writes:
More than half of the 250-strong workforce at the National Trust for Scotland’s headquarters in Edinburgh have been told their jobs are under threat.
Almost 50 staff have been told that they will lose their jobs unless they are prepared to relocate as part of the restructuring, ordered by new chief executive Simon Skinner, who was appointed a year ago.
NTS, which has 540 full-time equivalent staff, said the bulk of the 142 ‘at risk’ posts are based at its Hermiston Quay headquarters. The charity only relocated there six years ago after selling off its historic New Town home under a previous savings programme.
The cuts are being made in a bid to reduce NTS’s running costs by 10 per cent and instead plough £4 million worth of savings into a £17m overhaul of parts of its portfolio….
However union leaders described the cuts by the 85-year-old trust, as a ‘devastating blow’ for Scotland’s heritage sector. They raised concerns over the impact on ‘significantly stretched’ staff and claimed replacing full-time staff with contractors would have a long-term ‘damaging’ effect on its work.
However Mr Skinner, previously chief executive of finance giant Aegon Ireland, described NTS’s overhaul as ‘a visionary transformation’. He insisted it had no plans to close down attractions.
He added: ‘Efficiencies will enable us to continue to invest in properties and create a virtuous circle which will result in us earning more income from increasing numbers of visitors and members. This will allow us to address the conservation backlog that has been a long-standing barrier to our ambitions. more…
Civil Society writes
The National Trust for Scotland could reduce its workforce by up to a quarter as part of a drive to generate an extra £8m a year of income and savings.
…. Prospect, the union representing staff, has said it is ‘a devastating blow to Scotland’s heritage sector’ which risk damaging the charity in the long term.
‘We are concerned that the trust’s proposals rely heavily on replacing full-time staff with contractors. Although a move like this can show short-term cost reductions, they risk damaging the trust in the long-term.’ more….
