Unison has warned drastic cuts to the budget of a mental health charity will have implications for voluntary organisations across the country.

Glasgow City Council confirmed yesterday that it is to cut funding for Glasgow Association for Mental Health (GAMH) by 40 per cent, while demanding its staff help people recover from their illness more quickly.

The council's executive committee backed a report from social care director David Williams which said the charity should work more closely with GPs, while help for sufferers should aim to tackle problems early to prevent them getting worse, and should be focused on quicker rehabilitation and recovery. GAMH should achieve clear goals within reasonable timescales, Mr Williams said.

Deborah Dyer, Unison's regional organiser for the voluntary sector, said the decision - which was backed by Labour members of the committee but opposed by SNP and Green members - meant abandoning mental health sufferers.

"This is a deplorable decision. Hundreds of vulnerable people across Glasgow will have a lifeline service cut from under them with devastating effects," she said.

"Mental health now has a time limit on it. You will get 12 weeks of help and after that you are on your own," she said.

She claimed the report on which councillors based their decision was flawed and disguised the council's true agenda. "This is nothing to do with service quality, it is about cost. GAMH pay the living wage, at the council's request and now they are paying the price for that. The Labour group is saying we prefer non-unionised cheap labour, offering time limited services.

"This has implications for the whole third sector, and charities should be quaking in their boots around the country. It is a race to the bottom," she added.

The decision is expected to force GAMH to make redundancies and could threaten the viability of the charity. Ms Dyer called for the council to hold talks with service users and staff to discuss the best way forward.

The trade union organised a demonstration of over 500 GAMH members, staff and supporters outside the council yesterday and presented a petition with over 10,000 names to councillors inside the building in a last ditch attempt to save the service.

GAMH service user Tom Gallacher said: "I am really devastated by this decisions, and particularly that the council refused to meet with us. If councils have to make decisions like this then they should be willing to explain themselves to those who are affected the most. The way this has been done is heartless and arrogant. This will have a devastating effect on me and many others who rely on GAMH's services."

Service users and staff who have been campaigning against the cut in GAMH's budget will now look at whether the decision can be challenged under equality laws.

A spokesman for Glasgow City Council said: "The council is facing an exceptionally challenging financial situation and we have to ensure tax payers' money is being spent effectively.

"Over the past twelve months we have reviewed our mental health services to ensure we are making the most of available resources.

"As with other parts of the social work service, this means there has to be an emphasis within the mental health service on early intervention and prevention.

"We also need to see better outcomes for individuals with more people recovering from their illness more quickly and being able to live independently in the community."

The spokesman said GAMH would continue to be a significant provider within the city's overall mental health service. But he added: "The review of mental health services undertaken by the council highlighted a clear need for GAMH to improve the services they provide and also that there is a duplication of services.

"As part of the overall reconfiguration of mental health services, we envisage GAMH working more closely with GPs, focusing on prevention rather than crisis intervention and delivering that preventative support more effectively."