Striking youth workers and trade unions marched through David Cameron’s Witney constituency yesterday to protest against county council cuts.
Some of Oxfordshire’s youth workers are set to lose their jobs because of a cost-cutting reorganisation which will see the service merged into seven new hubs.
Labour county councillor Richard Stevens, centre with red tie, who was on the demonstration, said: “Speaking to county council employees who are youth workers, their main concern is that youth work by qualified youth workers is being lost in Oxfordshire, which is not the same thing as services for young people.”
And youth worker and Unite official Mike Beal said there had been no offer of negotiations from the county council to avert the strike.
He said: “People are very angry.”
County council spokesman Marcus Mabberley said workers at the new early intervention hubs would be doing outreach work to identify what youth provision youngsters wanted.
He added: “Only 15 people voted in Unite’s ballot, only 13 of them decided to strike.
“This action had no impact on service delivery.”
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