ALMOST 300 people have lost their jobs in council cuts so far, Unison has claimed.

The union says there have been 177 compulsory redundancies and 108 voluntary severances at the authority since new savings measures began in 2010.

A further 51 employees whose jobs were affected have left voluntarily, it claims.

Waltham Forest Council has said it must save £65million in four years due to an unprecedented reduction in its funding from central government.

Unions have accused the council leadership of cutting jobs and conditions for its lowest paid workers in order to protect senior officers, a claim it denies.

Unison says the council is now in phase 22 of its cuts programme but has decided to officially stop naming each stage.

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