News / Praise for SIC as 31 ferry jobs go
COMMUNITY councils have praised Shetland Islands Council for carrying out a genuine consultation exercise on the future of the inter-island ferry service.
On Monday afternoon, a compromise deal on ferry cut backs was approved by councillors, which will save the local authority £3.1 million from the £13 million ferry budget.
The compromise will see the loss of 31 jobs through voluntary redundancy packages, reduce the number of sailings on most routes and reintroduce fares on Bluemull Sound.
Yell Community Council said the deal would secure the economic and social viability of island communities as no one was under any illusion that sacrifices had to be made.
Its community councillors were instrumental in tearing up the council’s original proposals and designing a reduced service without threatening the survival of the Shetland’s island communities.
Chairman Dan Thompson said: “We had to concentrate on safeguarding the service for the sake of the economy, for salmon and mussels being shipped from here, as well as for people commuting to and from work.
“On this occasion we had real consultation. Some of the previous consultations were not consultations as such; council staff were more or less telling us what they wanted to do.
“This time they have taken on board what has been said by the community and acted accordingly,” Thompson said
His colleague Lowrie Robertson from Unst Community Council added they had got the compromise they had been hoping for.
And he emphasised that “this time” the consultation had been “real” in comparison to the ongoing consultation on potential school closures, which he described as “slash and burn”.
He added that the reduction in the number of ferry journeys across Bluemull Sound would undoubtedly have a negative impact on Unst’s growing tourism industry.
Chairman of the council’s transport and environment committee Allan Wishart said that discussions on future staffing levels and the finer details of time tabling would continue.
The aim was to introduce the changes on most routes by early June 2013.
“I must pay tribute to our staff, who have put such an enormous amount of work into this review – and to the island communities who have worked alongside them to come up with this option.
“There will inevitably be some inconvenience to ferry users as the new services bed in, but I believe we’ve delivered the best outcome, given the finances the council has available,” Wishart said.
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