The leader of Hounslow Council has defended plans to axe 100 more jobs at the authority.

Staff have been asked in an email if they would take voluntary redundancy, as part of what council bosses say is a three-year improvement programme, set to deliver £53m savings.

Council leader Peter Thompson said the proposals would increase efficiency and reduce costs but the move has been criticised by the opposition.

Last year 300 council posts were axed, with some workers having years of experience.

Iain Raymond, branch secretary of council workers' union Unison, said: "I refuse to accept these job cuts will not have an affect on the quality or standard of services.

"Quoting the improvement programme doesn't mean that it's right."

Councillor Ruth Cadbury, deputy leader of the Labour group, said: “Serious questions need to be asked about the competence of the Tory administration and their ability to control the council’s budget. They said there would be no more redundancies, but this is the third round within 18 months.

“Why are further redundancies being sought when so many staff have already gone?

“Have the savings expected from the much vaunted improvement plan, that cost £5m, not been realised?”

Coun Thompson said the latest wave of redundancies had always been planned as part of the improvement programme.

He said: “There are this year real pressures on our budget caused by the recession as revenue into the council falls. However, I remain confident that we can continue to both increase efficiency and reduce costs in Hounslow as we have done over the last three years.

“With the prospects of tough financial settlements looming, councils will need to take bold decisions to safeguard key services. The people of Hounslow can decide next year at the local elections who is best suited to lead the council in times of spending cuts the likes of which we haven’t seen for decades.”

Coun Cadbury said the Tory-led administration needed to reassure taxpayers that services would not be affected by the cuts, and should be “open and above board about any potential budget problems”.

The council spent £4.3m on fees for financial consultants KPMG as part of the improvement programme, which has delivered £6.9m for services this year and enabled council tax to be frozen, but has come with cuts across departments.

Job losses have led to £20m savings.