A UNION boss said last night he could call on members to strike after Oxfordshire County Council unveiled plans to axe 500 jobs over the next five years.

Mark Fysh, secretary of the Oxfordshire branch of Unison, spoke out after it emerged the council was planning to make savings of £90m from April 2010 – with a tenth of its staff to go.

It is not yet known where the jobs will be cut, although schools and social services are understood to be unaffected.

But last night Mr Fysh attacked the council’s consultancy and agency staff bill and said industrial action was an option.

He said: “I wouldn’t rule (strike action) out, just like the council won’t rule out redundancies.

“We would rather negotiate, but if they won’t get rid of the consultants then I will be calling for strike action.”

Council leader Keith Mitchell, who has declined to speak to the Oxford Mail, is blaming the job losses on an expected reduction in Government grants.

The Tory leader has pledged to protect front-line services despite the cuts.

It is not known whether County Hall had discussed the possibility of job cuts prior to last month’s local elections.

Mr Fysh said: “Mr Mitchell says schools and social services will not be affected. No, it’s going to be the rest of the services provided by the council, such as roads, environmental services and libraries. The council does a hell of a lot.

“We have got a situation where the council is spending way over £12m a year on consultants — that’s £60m over five years — and we are losing 500 jobs.

“I say don’t cut services to the public, cut out the consultants, interim workers and agency staff. Does the public want their cash to go to consultants or public services? If you get rid of consultants there won’t be the impact on services.”

The news comes a week after Mr Mitchell pledged to get next year’s council tax rise down to 2.5 per cent, which he said would result in a council tax freeze for the next three years if David Cameron won the next General Election.

Mr Fysh said: “I don’t think that is achievable. None of us like paying council tax, but we dislike losing services even more.

“They are making these cuts so when the Tories win the next General Election, the worst cuts won’t fall within a Tory government.”

Unison has 3,600 members in Oxfordshire. The county council has a 12 per cent turnover of staff each year.

tshepherd@oxfordmail.co.uk