Trade unions have warned jobs must be safeguarded as councils prepare for the transition to unitary status. Unison has called for a national framework to cover staff being transferred to the nine new authorities. The GMB has called for an urgent meeting with local government minister, John Healey, to voice its concerns over emplyees in the 35 district councils which will be abolished. ‘The year 2009 may seem a long way off, but in terms of the unsettling affect on staff and communities it is now that the work to safeguard jobs and service needs to be done,' said GMB national secretary for public services, Brian Strutton. ‘These proposals are predicted on savings through job losses, possibly thousands of jobs, and there is no evidence that services to the public will be improved.' Unison's national officer for local government, Lucille Thirlby, said: ‘Reorganising councils is a huge undertaking which needs to put delivering high-quality public services first. ‘It should not be used as a pretext to cut staff numbers and diminish working conditions in the public sector. ‘Retaining and improving workforce morale is vital to delivering quality and responsive public services – especially in a sector that still pays hundreds of thousands of staff relatively poorly.'