A HOUSING workforce is being slashed by almost a third as a council trims its repairs service to compete against private companies.

Twenty out of 70 jobs are being lost at Wear Valley District Council's housing department, whose maintenance service goes out to tender this year under Government rules on Best Value.

The service was criticised in an Audit Commission report last year and inspectors are returning for a follow-up visit on Monday.

Letters asking for voluntary redundancies went out last night, a few hours after union representatives met senior councillors and officers at the Civic Centre, Crook.

Workers are also being asked to take a wage cut of up to £80 a week, become multi-skilled and work flexible hours up to 6pm.

On Monday, the council cut 14 posts from its arts and leisure service and froze council tax at last year's level.

John Cosgrove, regional organiser for the Union of Construction, Allied Trades and Technicians (UCATT) said: "This council says it is committed to bringing jobs to the district but it is making people redundant. The workers have bent over backwards to improve the repairs service and this is how they repay them.

"How can they go home and tell their families they are bringing home less money?

"They have had the shadow of redundancy hanging over them since before Christmas. We cannot see how the council can run the service. It will cost them more in the long run."

The authority's housing director, Michael Laing, said: "We want to win the repairs contract but we won't win with our current costs. And we won't win with our current working methods, which close the service at 4pm and 2pm on Fridays.

"We want to extend the hours that the service is available. We are not asking them to work any more hours. We are asking them to be more flexible in how they work. They are not multi-skilled but we will train them to be multi-skilled. We are putting our customers first and not the workforce, and we have to get more value out of the men we have got."