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Unite slams Tory council leader over twitter shame

2 November 2011

Unite, the UK's largest union, is calling for an apology from Keith Mitchell, the Tory leader of Oxfordshire county council, as anger over an abusive tweet mounts.

In the tweet, which was sent on the day youth workers staged a one-day walk-out outside County Hall, Oxford, Keith Mitchell described the striking workers as 'a gaggle of deficit deniers' and asks 'do they have jobs or are they on benefits?' - http://politicalscrapbook.net/2011/11/keith-mitchell-twitter-attack/

Doug Nicholls, Unite national officer for community and youth workers and the not for profit sector, said: “Keith Mitchell hasn't got a clue, this is pretty rich coming from a man who has presided over the destruction of the youth work profession in Oxfordshire.

“Such comments are deeply insulting to both those who have lost their jobs in the council's short-sighted re-structuring exercise and to the young people across the county who they support.

“He needs to recover some professional credibility by getting around the negotiating table with the workers to discuss how a high-calibre youth service can be saved.”

Oxfordshire county council is slashing youth service funding from £3.7 million to £1.4 million, making the country one of the lowest contributors to youth services in the country.

The jobs of 80 professional youth workers are under threat, as the Conservative-led council pushes ahead with plans to off-load the running of its 26 youth clubs and two-detached youth teams.



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