Con-Dems make 380k council workers pay for their crisis

The number of public-sector posts at 397 local authorities dropped by about a sixth from over 2.5 million in 2010 to less than 2.2m in 2012, according to official figures.

The numbers come straight from councils and include school workers.

GMB said that ordinary council workers were being made to pay for the financial crisis and it would badly affect elderly local citizens who heavily rely on council services being stripped to the bone.

Most of the cuts have come from redundancies and hiring freezes forced on councils by central government budget cuts.

But turning state schools into academies and labelling colleges as private have also added to the grim tally.

South-west England was the worst hit, with 52,400 fewer council jobs than in 2010.

Eastern and north-western England were also badly hit, with drops of 47,000 and 45,000.

In Scotland there was a drop of 25,600 and one of 10,300 in Wales.

GMB national secretary Brian Strutton said the "terrible extent of the cuts" was "plain to see."

"These are the people who provide local services so cuts are a disaster for local communities and for those workers who have lost their jobs.

"Council budgets are still being cut so this trend in falling employment numbers is likely to continue into 2014.

"Not a single council worker ever contributed anything to the financial crisis that they are being made to pay the price for.

"Neither did any of the elderly, needy or vulnerable local citizens that rely on ever diminishing council services."