BULLETIN
Mid-January 2014 Thames Lock Keepers Under Threat
likely to take hold across all waterways services provided by EA as it continues to have to deal with large budget cuts. This highlights the importance GMB, the union for Environment of IWA’s continuing campaign Agency (EA) staff, has to have EA’s navigation duties announced that it has discovered transferred to Canal & River that EA plans to cut 90 resident Trust and the damage that lock and weir keeper posts from EA waterways will potentially the river Thames. This follows suffer as a result of delaying the announcement from EA last this move. Waterways owned, year that it has planned staff cuts managed and operated by the of 1700 positions for 2014. government are not safe as the essential funds needed to GMB claims that the report properly maintain the waterways will recommend the revival and provide an adequate service of previously rejected plans to users are not being made for a substantial reduction in available to EA. the number of lock and weir keepers on the Thames and a freeze on further recruitment to An additional concern of GMB’s, these posts. EA originally claimed following the recent flooding, is that reductions in front line that the freezing of these staff of this scale would have the positions would save £47,000 potential to escalate the risk of per residential post. Such a flooding. EA has given assurances saving would free-up funds to that this would not be the case use in essential maintenance as there are now over 200 across EA waterways. GMB has members of staff on stand-by to argued that EA can provide respond to any incidents on the no evidence that such savings Thames. The Thames is not liable would result from the freezing to flash flooding; instead, water of residential posts. levels increase over time after prolonged periods of rain. Any It is clear that EA would flood risk from the Thames benefit from savings of this comes with plenty of warning size. However, the removal of because of this slow increase residential keepers would have and because water levels a detrimental affect, reducing are continuously monitored the service level at locks on remotely. This allows EA standthe Thames; a pattern that is
Goring on Thames - Graham and Marilyn Speechley
by staff to respond to any risk of flooding in the necessary timescale. EA has stated that its 2014/15 budget is yet to be confirmed but that it is likely to cut staff numbers from 11,250 at the end of March 2014 to around 9,700 by the end of October 2014. Staff numbers should then remain stable until March 2015. For more information on Trade Union GMB’s views of these cuts, visit the GMB website.
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