The redundancy of five railways workers has been confirmed after their appeals were dismissed by an independent panel. Hon David Cretney MHK, Minister for Community, Culture and Leisure, said: ‘I very much regret the necessity to make five staff redundant to meet our budget. My Department consulted with 32 employees, identified 22 posts to be saved and of those reached agreement with 17 people who were willing to move on to other posts in Government, to other employment or to take early retirement. ‘The five affected staff remain employed by the Department and will be assisted with redeployment until their end of service, which is the end of July 2011.’ The appeal process was added to Isle of Man Government Policy and agreed with the trade unions representing the railway workers. The appointment of a panel to hear the appeal of railway workers was also agreed with the union and consisted of senior officers external to the Department of Community, Culture and Leisure. Normally the appeal would be to the Chief Executive Officer of the Department but an independent panel was convened to avoid any conflict of interest. The panel heard the appeals on Friday (3 June) and made judgements that were passed to Nick Black, Chief Executive of the Department as the person to whom the appeal was made. The Chief Executive wrote to all appellants and to their Union Regional Industrial Organiser, Steve Salter, informing them of the decision. Minister Cretney added: ‘I want to reiterate how much my Department regrets having to make any redundancies. This action was only taken with the greatest reluctance and as a result of the difficult economic times. Anyone unsure of the scale of the issues need only to cast an eye to our near neighbours and particularly to the changes that are being made to the public sector in the UK and Ireland. Indeed, other Departments here have had to make staffing reductions, as have a number of private sector employers because of the current challenging economic conditions. I have experienced redundancy and sympathise with all staff affected but must re-emphasise the responsibility on Departments like mine to make any possible economies so that the Departments of Health, Education and Social Care can retain their funding and maintain the level of service the Island expects. ‘Efforts continue to explore redeployment opportunities for the workers affected.’ -Ends-