A COUNCIL'S plan to create 250 new jobs has been labelled as a 'cheap' political stunt.

Greenwich Council recently announced it would be creating the new roles, which will last for up to 12 months, in a bid to help the borough through the recession.

The jobs, which include street cleaner posts, environmental workers, enforcement officers and neighbourhood wardens, will only be open to unemployed Greenwich residents.

But leader of Greenwich Conservatives, Councillor Spencer Drury, says the £7m scheme is a political stunt to woo voters before next year's local elections, and that £1m is being wasted on "excessive" management costs to run the scheme.

Cllr Drury says 60 extra posts could be created if the initiative was managed by existing staff and that the council was "putting party politics before people".

He added: "Labour should be helping people to develop long term vocational skills which will allow them to access careers in the future rather than being an unskilled workforce on the cheap.”

But council leader, Cllr Chris Roberts, said: "The council has taken the decision to create 250 jobs during what is an extremely challenging time for many local residents who are suffering as a result of the credit crunch.

"Hundreds of local people have already contacted us and shown tremendous enthusiasm and interest in the opportunities."

He added: "It is a way of us managing to help some local people who may be struggling at this challenging time.

"But it also brings big benefits for all residents – it allows us to increase resources in the areas which really matter, helping us create an even cleaner, greener and safer Greenwich.”

The council held the first of its recruitment open days for these posts yesterday (JUL28), with others taking place on at Charlton Athletic's football ground on Thursday (July30) and Eltham Green School on Tuesday (Aug4), both from 10am to 4pm.

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