Janitor jobs at risk across Aberdeenshire as council plans huge cutbacks

Janitor jobs are at risk as Aberdeenshire Council plans to reduce hours at schools across the region.

A letter, seen by the Press and Journal, was sent to staff making them aware of the proposals.

Resources head Anne-Marie Davies Macleod acknowledged it would be “an anxious time” in the message.

Under the plans, 106 hours of cover would be lost at Fraserburgh schools and Ellon would lose 89.

Inverurie schools would suffer a combined 86-hour reduction, and the council could save on 79 in the Stonehaven area.

In it, the council’s education chiefs said they had “considered all posts and responsibilities” but said change was needed to “improve efficiency”.

The local authority wants to have two full-time group janitors at each of its 15 clusters with a secondary school or community campus.

The remaining staff will be allocated to areas based on the total floor area of buildings, rather than pupil rolls.

One full-time janitor will be left in place at Banff Academy to maintain the grounds.

But, ground work elsewhere will be covered by the council’s wider landscape services team under the proposals.

The review affects 124 employees across Aberdeenshire.

It comes as the council prepares to plug a £67 million black hole and set its budget for the year ahead.

Where will janitor hours be cut?

This is the council’s first janitorial review in more than a decade.

It argues the changes will remove “anomalies” in the allocation of caretakers.

However, it will result in staff working hours being cut in some areas, while it will increase in others.

At the moment, janitors in the Fraserburgh cluster work a combined 299 hours per week to keep schools tidy and in full working order.

However, the proposal could see this reduced to 193 resulting in a loss of 106 hours.

Cuts are also expected in Ellon (-89), Inverurie (-86) and Stonehaven (-79).

But Turriff is set to gain 33 additional janitorial hours while Alford will benefit from 28.

Aberdeenshire Council janitors invited to share their views

At the moment, group janitors work within a certain school on a fixed basis with many contracted to specific days and times.

But this is set to change too.

Under the new plan, staff could be expected to carry out regular and essential tasks across their cluster.

Aberdeenshire Council says it will bring in new and improved technology to keep on top of the task-driven service.

Staff consultations will run until February 25 to allow affected employees to comment on the proposed changes.

Feedback from this will be taken onboard by education staff and the council’s human resources team.

A report will then go before education bosses on whether the proposal should progress.

If all goes to plan, Aberdeenshire Council is hoping to move forward with the changes at the beginning of March.

What did the council have to say about it?

An Aberdeenshire Council spokesman confirmed the review was under way.

He said: “The council’s aim is to ensure a fair and equitable distribution of janitorial resources – for example, allocating resources based on the gross internal floor area of school buildings, rather than pupil numbers.

“A review has not been carried out for the past 12 years and so proposals seek to remove current inequities which have been created over the past decade.”

The authority did not deny that job losses would  be part of the plan.