The Canal & River Trust has begun a consultation on moving resource to regional teams, potentially putting some 240 staff “at risk” of redundancy, although the charity says it hopes to "redesign" many of the roles.
In an announcement made earlier this month, the charity said it would seek “to improve customer service and to engage with local communities,” as part of its new strategy.
The Trust wants to move resources from “centrally-based roles” to “six customer-facing regional teams”, which could affect 240 staff members whose existing roles are now being described as “at risk”.
The charity has begun consulting with trade unions and those staff members affected, and said it aims to "redesign the roles" rather than relocate or remove all of them.
Richard Parry, chief executive, said: “The trust has been repositioning as a charity for the waterways and wellbeing, with a new structure that has seen us move from ten waterways to six larger regions, with some activities previously managed centrally now devolved to these regional teams, and a reduction in senior manager numbers overall.
“The intention is to redesign roles to meet what the trust needs for the future rather than to removed these posts from the organisation entirely. Operations roles will be focussed on how to deliver great customer service for boaters, towpath users and visitors to our numerous attractions, and there will be greater capacity to react and respond to the needs of the local waterway and surrounding communities.”
The charity confirmed that volunteer leaders and waterway operatives will not affected by the changes.
According to its most recent set of accounts for the year ending 31 March 2018, the Canal & River Trust employed nearly 1,700 staff, with 84 staff receiving salaries of over £60,000 a year.
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