South Cambridgeshire’s council leader calls the upcoming referendum on the four-day week trial meaningless, focusing instead on residents’ experiences.
South Cambridgeshire: The council leader, Bridget Smith, thinks a referendum on the four-day workweek trial is pointless. She believes it won’t provide useful insights.
Instead, the council wants to hear about people’s experiences with their services. They’re not asking if folks support the trial, which some opposition members find frustrating.
The four-day week started in early 2023 for desk staff and later included waste collection workers. Employees get full pay but must finish their work in fewer hours.
This trial aims to tackle staff recruitment and retention issues. A public consultation is coming up, asking how people feel about council services during the trial.
Bridget mentioned that the consultation was crafted with help from an independent group. It’s meant to gather meaningful feedback from residents and businesses.
She emphasized that understanding experiences is crucial. This info will help decide if the four-day week should continue. They want to know if it’s made a difference.
However, some councillors, like Tom Bygott, argue that the survey should ask if people support the four-day week. He feels it misses the point about taxpayer opinions.
Bridget responded that a referendum wouldn’t be helpful. She wants to focus on service experiences, not just opinions on the trial.
There are text boxes in the survey for additional comments, but she insists it’s not a referendum. She wants to keep it meaningful for the council.
Another councillor, Heather Williams, pointed out that asking people to remember their experiences from years ago might be tricky. She suggested a pre-trial survey for better comparison.
Bridget dismissed that idea, saying it’s silly to consult on whether to try something new. The council had hoped to start the consultation earlier but faced delays.
John Williams, another council member, said the survey aims to complement other performance measures. It’s set to begin on January 27 and run for eight weeks.
