A NORTH-EAST authority which axed 150 jobs as part of a cost-cutting exercise has been accused of gross unfairness.

Middlesbrough Council dismissed the workers from its economic development and transportation department in 1998 as part of a package of measures designed to save £1.7m.

At the time, union leaders attacked the Labour-run council for its handling of the job losses and more than 1,000 council workers protested outside Middlesbrough Town Hall.

Yesterday, an industrial tribunal to determine whether workers were unfairly dismissed heard evidence relating to five lead cases from department head Brian Glover.

Gerry Hunter, of Amicus (formerly the Amalgamated Engineering and Electrical Union), said his client, Edwin Purvis, 63, of Marton, Middlesbrough, had been overlooked for redeployment by only being considered for jobs he was not qualified to do.

"We say that that was grossly unfair of you because he had no chance of succeeding," said Mr Hunter.

Mr Glover admitted that workers' personal files and training records were not consulted before they were considered for other posts within the department.

Earlier, barrister Raphael Cohen, representing John Chadwick, 56, of Stokesley, North Yorkshire, Harry Alderton, 53, of Eaglescliffe, Stockton, Chris Nestor, 54, of Linthorpe, Middlesbrough, and Kenneth Bland, 53, of Guisborough, east Cleveland, for the Transport and General Workers' Union and Unison, criticised the council for taking just three days to carry out 203 assessments of staff being considered for redundancy.

The tribunal resumes tomorrow.