Restructuring programme will shed dozens of posts in bid to fulfill £47m conservation backlog
Scotland’s largest and best known conservation charity is set to shed up to a quarter of its workforce as part of a massive restructuring programme.
The National Trust for Scotland (NTS) has issued redundancy notices to 142 staff based mostly at its HQ in Edinburgh as it announced a 90-day formal consultation on the changes.
There will be an overall reduction in staff numbers, mainly at the trust’s HQ, with 142 posts classified as "at risk".
Only core services operating at national level will remain there.
The charity, which has 350,000 members and employs 540 full time and 750 seasonal staff, said the changes are designed to support new ways of working and will mean that the charity’s headquarters will be streamlined.
Managers at NTS said the changes are essential to address its £47 million conservation backlog, however union bosses slammed the charity for pursuing “long-term aims by pursuing short-term cost savings.”
It's a bold vision which challenges us to completely change the way we deliver - Simon Skinner
Simon Skinner, NTS chief executive, said: “We have opened consultation with our recognised trade union on a visionary transformation of the trust.
“It is a bold and ambitious vision, which challenges us to completely change the way we deliver our core purposes.
“While the trust has achieved stability in the last few years, we have choices to make if we are to move forward and face up to ensuring our heritage remains relevant and engaging in an era of ever more demanding, digitally savvy generations.
“We need a step-change if we are to find and generate the investment we need to ensure the trust is fit for the future and offer world-class visitor experiences that are stimulating, thought-provoking and fun.
“For those affected we will be opening up opportunities for voluntary redundancy and will match as many people as possible to new posts in order to keep compulsory redundancy to a minimum.
"But, inevitably, we will be losing some of our old friends and colleagues and some will have to move from their current base. Change is not easy but change we must if we are to continue to deliver on our core purposes.”
However Prospect, the union which represents many of the NTS staff, said the announcement is a “devastating blow to Scotland’s heritage sector.”
It said it had been working to ensure members’ jobs are protected ever since the plans were first mooted in January.
“Our members are already significantly stretched and continue to do valuable work for the charity in such difficult times,” Prospect negotiator Ian Perth added.
“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.”
Last year at the charity's AGM Skinner said its survival depended on doubling its membership and “standing up” as an influential and relevant campaigning organisation - not afraid to voice the concerns of its members on issues of national importance such as energy and planning policy.
