THOUSANDS of staff at Scotland's largest council are being offered career breaks of up to five years, nine-day fortnights and the option to buy holidays as the authority attempts to force through more savings.

Claiming it had to "consider new ways of working" and that it wanted to promote "work-life balance options", Glasgow City Council has unveiled a raft of options to its 18,000 staff as it heads into the next financial year needing to save around £42 million.

Last year the council said it intended to save £5m through changes to workforce terms and conditions, which raised concerns about reduced holiday entitlement, increased hours and an end to flexible working.

But these changes have failed to deliver, while the latest proposals – described by one union leader as "astonishingly liberal" – come just months ahead of the most crucial election for decades for the city's long-standing Labour administration.

All Scottish local authorities have been looking at workforce terms and conditions in the face of rising cutbacks.

Last year staff at Aberdeen had the choice of a 5% wage cut, or 1000 job losses.

Glasgow's move comes as a new report by the TUC claims more than 70,000 public sector jobs are likely to go in Scotland as part of Westminster-led cuts.

The TUC study is based on Chancellor George Osborne's plan, announced in November, to axe 710,000 UK public sector jobs. Scotland's share is 70,225, or 2.8% of all jobs in the country.

It also comes on the back of comments to The Herald by new Scottish Local Government Minister Derek Mackay, who claimed the SNP administration at Holyrood was still committed to a policy of no compulsory redundancies, adding he believed it was only a last option for councils and one none were keen on.

In a circular issued to staff this week, Glasgow City Council said: "The council continues to face financial challenges, which means we have to consider new ways of working. This includes having a flexible, responsive workforce which can meet the ever-changing needs of the customer.

"The recent review of terms and conditions of employment has resulted in the council looking to promote a number of work-life balance options for employees to consider."

Under its plans for nine-day fortnights, those approved will have their new work pattern made permanent, while those previously excluded from similar changes will be reconsidered.

The note states: "Whilst we can't guarantee all applications will be approved, the council will seriously consider applications from employees who would like to work a nine-day fortnight work pattern."

Staff eligible for them can apply for an unpaid break from work for a maximum period of two years on a single break, or for up to five years in total over multiple breaks.

Last November the authority's chief executive, George Black, said a decision had been taken not to introduce any change to public holidays in the near future.

Councillor George Ryan, the council's political head of personnel, said: "Ideas like these will contribute towards financial efficiency and we're saying to staff that if one of these options suits them, then it will help contribute towards dealing with financial pressures on an individual basis.

"Staff have also been coming up with ideas like these themselves, and we're saying to them that we're listening."

One union source said: "This is very 'softly softly'. Astonishingly liberal stuff, actually, and everything to do with an election just four months away. Labour knows that in Glasgow during the Holyrood elections they were chased from the doors of council staff and don't want that again. Make no mistake though, we are still talking about terms and conditions."