THE National Trust for Scotland (NTS) has announced that 79 jobs are being put at risk under plans to restructure its management.

The move forms part of continuing plans to improve visitor services and free up increased funding for conservation projects.

It is the second time it will start consulting its staff about redundancies in less than two years.

However it also said that 63 new roles would be created, with those at risk of redundancy able to apply.

Prospect, the recognised union at NTS, expressed "serious disappointment" at the proposal.

NTS chief operating officer, Patrick Duffy, said: "The proposed changes mean reducing the level of administrative activities undertaken at properties thereby focussing the teams at them much more on visitor services, quality and delivering conservation work more effectively.

"If we are to offer visitor experiences that meet today's and tomorrow's expectations, we need to have the right combination of skills in the teams running properties.

"In short, we have to make changes."

NTS currently employs around 560 full-time, year-round employees as well as 580 seasonal employees and 135 casual workers.

The latest move is part of what the charity described as "a significant restructure" of the trust which began in 2016, which put 142 jobs at risk and lead to 90 being lost.

The proposals will now be subject to a 30 day consultation between staff, union representatives and stakeholders.

The Prospect trade union said it would fight the proposals and accused NTS CEO Simon Skinner of breaking a pledge not to cut any further staff at any sites.

It said that initial information indicated that property managers may be removed from the organisation’s structure and replaced with visitor service managers and raised concerns about any changes that would lead to staff doing the same job, day to day, at a lower grade.

Prospect negotiations officer, Ian Perth, said: "At the beginning in of these changes in 2016, CEO Simon Skinner clearly outlined that the Trust had no intention to cut numbers at properties; and this gave comfort to our members and their families.

“This announcement risks eroding the trust staff can have in the pronouncements of senior management.

“For many, the National Trust for Scotland is far more than just an organisation, its properties are often woven into the fabric of rural communities, so any staff reductions in front line properties could be devastating for local economies.

“Our members are concerned that the Trust properties are increasingly run with a ‘for profit’ business like mentality, and while we respect there are financial imperatives for all organisations; it should not be to the detriment of its core charitable aims and the communities they serve.

“As a charity the Trust should avoid the anxiety caused to staff and unnecessarily spending on ‘redundancy pay outs’ in order to make strategic changes that can often be achieved through conciliation and partnership with staff.”