TORY council bosses are rushing to fire and rehire about 150 staff before the practice is outlawed, Unison says.

The public service union has called Worcestershire County Council’s plans obscene, saying they will amount to a 5 per cent pay cut while only saving a minuscule amount of money in relation to the Conservative-run authority’s overall budget.

Council bosses aim to dismiss workers from their 37-hour contracts in October in order to rehire them on 35 hours instead.

But with Labour vowing to pass legislation to end fire & rehire practices within 100 days of taking office, Unison West Midlands organiser Jack Kay said the council was now in a race against time to complete the process before it was banned.

A council spokesman said the local authority had consulted about 150 staff, “less than 6 per cent of the workforce” on the plans, and had remained “in dialogue” with staff and unions throughout the process.