チャールズ国王旧公邸、職員に解雇通告 「冷淡」と労組反発

【ＡＦＰ＝時事】】英王室は今週、チャールズ国王の旧公邸の一部職員に解雇を通告した。これに対し労働組合は１４日、「極めて冷淡だ」と批判した。（写真はエリザベス女王の肖像）
　スコットランド・エディンバラでエリザベス女王の追悼礼拝が行われていた１２日、ロンドンにあるチャールズ国王の旧公邸クラレンスハウスで、数十年働いてきたベテランを含む最大１００人の職員が解雇通知を受け取った。
　１３日付の英紙ガーディアンの第一報を受け、クラレンスハウスは公式の活動を停止することを認めた。
　解雇は、８日に女王が死去してチャールズ国王が即位し、「プリンス・オブ・ウェールズ」の称号とコーンウォール公領を手放したことを受けての措置。
　２００２年に女王の母エリザベス皇太后、昨年に女王の夫のフィリップ殿下が亡くなった際も、同様の措置が取られた。
　しかし、英国の公務員労組ＰＣＳのマーク・サーワトカ書記長は「喪中に解雇を発表するクラレンスハウスには血も涙もない」と非難。「王室の役割が変化する中、王室内にも変化があるのは当然だが、今回の解雇の人数と発表のスピードは極めて冷淡だ」と述べた。
　王室関係者によると、解雇通知を出す時期については、１９日のエリザベス女王の葬儀が終わるまで先延ばししようとする試みもあったが、法的助言をあおいだところ、早急に通知する必要があるとされた。
　対象となる職員には退職金が「上乗せ」され、正式な解雇までには少なくとも３か月の猶予があるという。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2022/09/16-16:10）

A British trade union on Wednesday criticised as callous a decision by the monarchy to issue redundancy notices this week to some staff at King Charles III's former official residence.
Up to 100 employees who work at Clarence House, including some there for decades, reportedly received the notifications on Monday during a prayer service in Edinburgh for the late Queen Elizabeth II.
It follows Charles's accession to the throne last Thursday upon the death of his mother, which in turn meant he relinquished the prince of Wales title and duchy of Cornwall estate he had held.
Those operations, formally run from the Clarence House residence, will now cease, his office confirmed, after The Guardian newspaper first reported the development on Tuesday.
The decision of Clarence House to announce redundancies during a period of mourning is nothing short of heartless, Mark Serwotka, general secretary of the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS), said in a statement.
While some changes across the households were to be expected, as roles across the royal family change, the scale and speed at which this has been announced is callous in the extreme.
He added the PCS remained committed to supporting those colleagues across the wider royal family's estates whose futures are thrown into turmoil by this announcement, at this already difficult time.
However, The Guardian noted Clarence House staff are not currently believed to have a recognised union available to them.
The move to wind down Charles' Clarence House operations follows similar steps with the households of Queen Elizabeth's mother, who died in 2002, and Charles's father Prince Philip, who passed away last year.
A spokeswoman for Clarence House said as required by law, a consultation process had begun following last week's accession.
Our staff have given long and loyal service and, while some redundancies will be unavoidable, we are working urgently to identify alternative roles for the greatest possible number of staff, she added.
Royal sources said efforts were made to delay informing impacted staff until after Queen Elizabeth's funeral on Monday, but legal advice sought said that it should be shared at the earliest moment.
Any employees being made redundant will be offered enhanced redundancy payments and none will be affected for at least three months, according to royal sources.