PROPOSED changes to Malvern Hills District Council's redundancy policy are an "unjustified attack" on council employees, says the trade union Unison.

At Tuesday's meeting of the council's executive committee, members were asked to approve the changes, which are being introduced in the wake of the row over the departure of chief executive Chris Bocock last year.

The revised policy will limit the total amount of redundancy payment than any employee can get to £40,000.

But Unison county branch secretary Jim Price says the the union will "strongly oppose what it regards as an unjustified attack on the terms of the current redundancy provisions".

He said: "The present terms were agreed following full consultation and debate less than two years ago. Little has changed in this time that would render it necessary to review and worsen the existing terms.

"The very low levels of redundancy amongst the council’s workforce has meant that, other than in one recent high-profile case, little call has been made on the redundancy provisions for MHDC employees. It would be wholly inappropriate and would establish an alarming precedent if the proposed changes are driven by the unseemly furore surrounding the case in question."

Cllr Paul Swinburn, the council's deputy leader, said he has some sympathy for the union, but he said: "We're not in the situation where we are anticipating any redundancies."

However, Cllr Julian Roskams of the Democratic group said that more redundancies were inevitable as Malvern Hills becomes more closely linked to Wychavon.

He said: "This is the wrong policy at the wrong time. Whether the current administration admits it or not, we're moving towards a shared senior management team with Wychavon, and this does smack of political opportunism and expediency."

The executive committee approved the changes by six votes to four. The proposals now have to be approved by the full council.