STUC – Page 10 – The NEN – North Edinburgh News

SCVO joins search for the missing million

The Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO) has joined forces with the STUC and the Daily Record for the Mission Million campaign to encourage the million people in Scotland currently unregistered to start using their vote.

John Downie, SCVO’s Director of Public Affairs, said: “It’s appalling to think that more than a million eligible people in Scotland aren’t registered to vote or won’t bother to use their vote, with the referendum just weeks away.

“We know that the top 20% of income earners are the most likely to vote, and as many as half of people in the bottom 20% don’t vote. This means it’s the poor, least educated and most vulnerable people who aren’t having their say. These are the people whose lives are most directly affected by political decisions about welfare, health and social care. If they don’t vote, it’s easier for politicians to ignore their needs.

“Politics is becoming all about raising funds and getting elected, no matter how few people actually support our politicians. But the referendum and other decisions about the economy, health and social care are far too important to be left to the politicians.

“Shockingly little is being done to convince people to use their vote but without enough voters we don’t have a healthy democracy. Charities can help but really it’s time for our politicians to do their bit to convince people that voting matters and to earn people’s trust.”

Grahame Smith, STUC General Secretary, said: “The independence referendum offers a superb opportunity to reinvigorate politics in Scotland. But it seems that both the tone of the debate and the limited action to promote participation means that far too many people will not have their say in September.

“Both sides of the debate are claiming they will deliver on social justice, so whatever the outcome of the referendum we will need to hold politicians to their promises. It is not too late for one final push to encourage people to register, and to vote on September 18.”

Allan Rennie, Editor in Chief of the Daily Record and Sunday Mail, said: “The decision Scots make in the referendum is one that will resound for generations to come. That is why it is crucial as many people as possible are involved in taking that decision, by getting registered to vote and using their vote on 18 September.

“There is still time get on to the electoral register and have a say – but not that much time.

“That is why we have joined with the SCVO and STUC to campaign for Scotland’s missing million voters to make their voices heard in what is going to be an historic day for Scottish democracy.”

Scotland’s economy: glass half full or half empty?

Just how real is the economic recovery? For some, the future’s certainly looking brighter but for many more life continues to be a daily struggle …

The economic recovery in Scotland is now becoming more embedded, Scotland Office Minister David Mundell said yesterday. Commenting on the latest Scottish Chambers of Commerce business survey, Mr Mundell also stressed that there was further work to be done.

Mr Mundell said: “As today’s Scottish Chambers of Commerce survey and other recent business surveys confirm, optimism amongst Scottish businesses continues to grow. Key performance measures have reached levels not seen since 2007 which is leading to more and more Scottish businesses looking to recruit new staff.

“The manufacturing sector continues to show robust growth with investment at its highest level in six years and export orders increasing for five consecutive quarters.

“As part of the UK, Scotland is doing well. Whilst our economic recovery is becoming more embedded there is still much work to be done. The Budget set out the next stage of our long term economic plan, making it easier for Scottish businesses to invest, to take on new staff and excel on a global stage.”

With business confidence rising, The Scottish Chamber of Commerce sees a brighter economic future for Scotland, The business organisation released their Business Survey results for the first quarter of 2014 yesterday.

“The hard work and determination of Scottish businesses is yielding positive outcomes for the growth of Scotland’s economy. All the indicators in this survey point to sustained economic growth as key sectors increase investment to expand activity, boosted by higher levels of business optimism”, said Scottish Chamber of Commerce Chief Executive Liz Cameron.

“Investment intentions of Scottish businesses are encouraging with the manufacturing industry showing superb results with higher levels of investment than at any time in the past 6 years and robust growth in export orders shown by a consistent increase over 5 consecutive quarters. Whilst investment levels in the construction sector remain low, for only the second time in 5 years investment has not declined, and over 70% of businesses in the sector have either maintained or increased commercial and domestic orders compared with the last quarter. Promisingly, almost 90% of construction businesses surveyed expect employee numbers to remain the same or increase in the next 3 months and less than 14% reduced employment in the previous quarter.

“Higher levels of business optimism in construction, wholesale, retail and tourism is a positive signal for continued growth, as all sectors reported higher levels of confidence in Q1 2014 compared with the same quarter last year.

“However, despite these positive indicators, challenges still remain. The retail industry is expecting a decrease in profitability in 2014 which may point to stalled consumer confidence and seasonal patterns, but benefit may be drawn from positive growth in the tourism sector as confidence levels among hotels remained high and a rise in the use of conference facilities was also reported.

“The issue of skills shortages is becoming more prominent as businesses look to expand and invest. Businesses in the manufacturing sector are reporting difficulties in recruiting skilled & technical staff and the tourism sector are also reporting difficulties in recruiting managerial staff and chefs. It is vital that the organisations responsible for the development of skills provision, actively work with the business community to ensure employees are provided with the skills required to succeed.

“The buoyancy and optimism of Scottish businesses is to be commended but Governments in Scotland and the UK must facilitate opportunities for businesses to access affordable finance, particularly as cash flow remains a pertinent issue for businesses in construction and manufacturing. Alongside this, efforts to export internationally must be strengthened by policy makers to enable Scottish businesses to take advantage of global trade opportunities.”

However other senior figures believe the latest figures don’t tell the whole story and that much still needs be done – particularly for the lowest paid.

Responding to the latest Labour Market and GDP statistics Scottish Trades Union Congress (STUC) General Secretary Grahame Smith said: “These figures include some more positive news on the Scottish labour market but confirm that recovery remains very slow. As some focus on the level it is important to stress that the employment rate – a significantly more accurate measure of the health of the labour market – remains fully 3.5% below its pre-recession peak.

“Youth unemployment continues to stagnate at a high level with the unemployment rate for 16-24 year olds falling by only 0.1% in the year to December. We also know that far too many of the jobs that are being created are low paid and insecure whilst the number of those needing more hours at work to make a decent living remains far too high.

“STUC is not unduly concerned by the fact that Scottish GDP growth in the last quarter of 2013 was much lower than for the UK as a whole. We expect growth to catch up in the subsequent quarter. Far more concerning is the overall lack of evidence of economic rebalancing in Scotland and across the whole of the UK.”

And earlier this week The Trussell Trust, the UK’s largest foodbank network, reported that over 900,000 adults and children have received three days’ emergency food and support from Trussell Trust foodbanks in the last 12 months, a 163 per cent rise on the previous year’s numbers. The charity says that despite signs of economic recovery, the poorest have seen incomes squeezed even more than last year and more people are being referred to foodbanks than ever before.

The Trussell Trust’s Chairman, Chris Mould, said: ‘That 900,000 people have received three days’ food from a foodbank, close to triple the numbers helped last year, is shocking in 21st century Britain. But perhaps most worrying of all this figure is just the tip of the iceberg of UK food poverty, it doesn’t include those helped by other emergency food providers, those living in towns where there is no foodbank, people who are too ashamed to seek help or the large number of people who are only just coping by eating less and buying cheap food.

“In the last year we have seen things get worse, rather than better, for many people on low-incomes. It’s been extremely tough for a lot of people, with parents not eating properly in order to feed their children and more people than ever experiencing seemingly unfair and harsh benefits sanctions.

“Unless there is determined policy action to ensure that the benefits of national economic recovery reach people on low-incomes we won’t see life get better for the poorest anytime soon.

“A more thoughtful approach to the administration of the benefits regime and sanctions in particular, increasing the minimum wage, introducing the living wage and looking at other measures such as social tariffs for essentials like energy would help to address the problem of UK hunger.”

Poverty and inequality – the fight goes on

Writer and commentator Owen Jones was the keynote speaker at the recent Anti-Poverty Conference held at Craigroyston Community High School.

Introduced by MSP Kezia Dugdale as ‘someone who tells it as it is’, Owen Jones didn’t disappoint. His hard-hitting speech covered the Thatcher years, the demonization of benefits claimants and some of the myths surrounding poverty. He also addressed the oft-repeated notion that ‘we’re all in this together’:

“It’s just nonsense – it’s still boom time for the people at the top. Look at the Sunday Times Rich List – the wealth of those at the top went up by nearly a fifth last year. There are tax cuts for the rich from this government of millionaires. But for the rest, living standards are declining at their fastest rate since my gran was born in the early 1920s. A Save the Children study has found that more and more parents are having to decide between heating their homes and eating, and many are skipping meals to allow their children to eat. School meals are being cut, breakfast clubs being closed. We’re the seventh richest country on Earth but we can no longer afford to feed our poorest children? It’s a disgraceful onslaught on people who are being made to pay for a crisis that was not of their making, that had nothing to do with them whatsoever. That’s the reality of Cameron’s Britain – a shame on this government and on this country”.

He concluded: “We won’t get change through the generosity and goodwill of the people at the top – the way we get change is by forcing our demands on those at the top, force them to listen. We must rally round a coherent alternative that gives people hope – we’ve got to give a voice to those who will otherwise be airbrushed out of existence. If we can do that we can not only take on this government and austerity, we can also lay the foundations of a new Britain, a new Scotland. We stand together, we fight together and we will win this together.”

Around seventy people attended the conference, which was organised by North Edinburgh Fights Back, STUC and Edinburgh Trades Union Council. The event offered a good mixture of speakers, workshops and information stalls and while numbers were down on the first year – mainly due to a similar event being held in the city centre – organisers were satisfied with the day’s programme.

North Edinburgh Fights Back’s Barbara Robertson said: “Thanks to everyone for attending and helping to make the second Anti-Poverty conference so successful. It is so worthwhile to get together in this fight against poverty and inequality”.

Mixed views on latest employment figures

Unemployment in Scotland fell over the last three months, but opinion is divided on just how robust the economic recovery is looking in Scotland. The Scottish government has welcomed the latest figures, but trade union leaders believe that, with a continued rise in long-term unemployment, the lessons of past recessions have not been learnt.

According to official figures released today, unemployment in Scotland has fallen by 14,000 over the three month period from September to November 2012. The Office of National Statistics figures also show that the youth unemployment rate saw the largest annual drop since the time series began in 2006, and is now the lowest level since March to May 2011.

Youth unemployment has fallen by 23,000 over the year to September to November with the rate decreasing by 4.8 percentage points to 19.9 per cent. The UK rate decreased by 1.7 percentage points to 21.0 per cent. This is the largest annual decrease in the youth unemployment rate in Scotland since the data series began in 2006. The youth employment rate in Scotland is 55.1 per cent compared to the UK rate of 51.8 per cent.

Scotland’s headline employment rate (for those aged 16 to 64) fell by 0.6 percentage points over the three months from September to November to 70.6 per cent, but the headline employment level (for those aged 16 and over) increased by 1,000 over the year. Scotland continues to have the fifth highest employment rate of all 12 UK countries and regions.

The claimant count in Scotland decreased by 1,400 over the month of December 2012, the second consecutive monthly fall. Over the year, the number of people claiming Jobseekers allowance fell by 4,400 to 137,500.

Commenting on the latest figures, Finance Secretary John Swinney said: “These figures show that unemployment in Scotland has continued to fall for the second monthly release. The strong performance in youth unemployment over the year is particularly welcome. We have lower youth unemployment, higher youth employment and lower youth inactivity than the UK. What’s more, this month’s release sees the largest annual drop in the youth unemployment rate since the data series began in 2006.

“However, we must continue to work to boost employment and the Scottish Government is taking direct action by investing in our infrastructure and maintaining the most competitive business environment anywhere in the UK. Our budget includes a tax relief package for business worth over £540m this year and bring forward a further £385 million package of economic stimulus.

“We are also targeting growth markets and growth industries and our efforts are paying off with today’s Global Connections survey showing that Scottish exports increased by by £1.6 billion to £23.9 billion in 2011. With the full fiscal and economic powers of independence the Scottish Government could do even more to strengthen our economy and create jobs.”

Youth Employment Minister Angela Constance said: “Today’s figures show that youth unemployment in Scotland is at its lowest level since March to May 2011 after falling for the second monthly release in a row. Our actions to improve youth employment rates have included a guarantee of a place in education or training for every 16-19 year old through Opportunities for All, funding 25,000 Modern Apprenticeships in each year of the current parliament and £8.5 million to create 1,400 jobs in the third sector through Community Jobs Scotland.

“This year we will continue our efforts by launching an Employer Recruitment Incentive which will give financial support to small companies willing to give young people a job. This is backed by £15 million of Scottish Government funding and by £10 million European Structural funding. Our young people’s fresh and modern thinking in the workplace will help drive our economy forward and we will continue to work hard to ensure they have the opportunity to do that.”

However Scottish Trades Union Congress (STUC) General Secretary Grahame Smith said: “For the second month in a row, the reported fall in unemployment has been exceeded by the fall in employment and economic activity. Quite simply it is no cause for celebration if people are leaving the labour force altogether rather than looking actively for work.

“These statistics show a very weak labour market which continues to be characterised by significant falls in full-time permanent positions, rising underemployment and worrying increases in inactivity. The fall in youth unemployment over the year is encouraging although the rate has hardly shifted. The rise in very long-term unemployment across all ages confirms the STUC’s consistently expressed fears that the errors of past recessions are being repeated.”

The Scottish Greens are also warning the Scottish government against complacency. Green MSP Alison Johnstone, a member of Holyrood’s Economy committee, said: “The government’s efforts to date on training and apprenticeships are welcome but much more needs to be done to ensure young people and women in particular are not shut out of the jobs market. It is also a concern that we’re continuing to see part-time work replace full-time jobs, and that many people feel the need to take a second job to make ends meet.

“The evidence I’ve been hearing as the economy committee examines underemployment clearly shows this is a serious problem. I urge the Scottish Government to do more to help small and medium sized businesses expand so they can offer their staff more hours. I also want to see more done to provide good quality, affordable childcare, the lack of which forces many women to stay out of work. It’s also appalling that Scotland has the second most expensive childcare in Europe yet those providing it are often on very low wages.”

Seconds out – campaigners gear up for round two of community conference

Community campaigners have announced that the second Anti-Poverty Conference will be held in Craigroyston Community High School on 1 December. It’s hoped that the latest event will build on the achievements of last year’s conference, and will target the Scottish Parliament this time round.

North Edinburgh Fights Back’s Willie Black (pictured above) explained: “Last autumn over 140 community and anti-poverty campaigners met in Edinburgh to discuss and act in a unified way demanding action against poverty. One of the conference’s aims was to build an anti-poverty Charter and to this end the Charter was presented to the City of Edinburgh Council and was adopted by them. The second Anti-Poverty Conference will broaden our demands towards the Scottish Parliament. Those who live in poverty and are fighting back against this poverty need a voice more than ever.”

The conference is being run in conjunction with the Scottish Trade Union Congress, the Edinburgh TUC, North Edinburgh Fights Back and a host of other anti-poverty campaigners across Scotland. Among the keynote speakers invited to address the conference are Owen Jones, the Poverty Alliance, Child Poverty Action Group, North Edinburgh Women’s International Group, the Fuel Poverty Action Group and leading Trade unionists.

Speakers will be followed by workshops and a Question Time session. Details have still to be confirmed, so keep an eye on the NEN blog for updated information – a draft programme is attached, but this is for guidance only and is subject to change: