Tag: STUC

Bins Strike: Politicians play the Blame Game while punters wade through mounting rubbish

TALKS to resolve the local government workers strike ended without an agreement being reached yesterday.

Unions had sought clarity over a 5% offer tabled at a meeting with local government organisation Cosla but the employers were unable to give sufficient reassurances to enable unions to call off planned strikes across the country.

This means the ongoing strike in Edinburgh will continue, with other council areas also being hit by industrial action for the first time today.

Edinburgh North and Leith SNP MP Deirdre Brock said the capital’s Labour-run council had failed to put forward a decent pay offer.

Edinburgh council’s Labour leader Cammy Day was criticised last week for offering just 3.5% to council workers while other council leaders were pushing for a 5% pay rise for their workers.

Ms Brock said: “The SNP in government put an extra £140m on the table, on top of the £100m extra given to councils earlier in the year, yet Labour refused to offer that money to refuse workers for over a week, leaving our capital streets an eyesore.

“Residents and tourists alike need to see a plan from Labour to clean up the capital starting today. All we’ve seen so far is ineptitude.”

Her Edinburgh SNP colleague Angus Robertson MSP weighed in:

The Labour administration in Edinburgh is propped up by the Scottish Conservatives and the Lib Dems, but the Tory Local Government spokesperson Miles Briggs MSP had a go at both the Labour-led council and the SNP Holyrood government:

Lamenting the city council’s ‘astounding’ lack of contingency planning – trade unions have made their plans very clear in the run-up to the strike – Lothians list MSP Miles Briggs said: “More could have been done to prepare the city, such as working with private companies or providing additional bins.

“The SNP government must get around the table and fix this before it’s too late. They cannot stand by and watch while a situation that they created by giving councils a poor funding settlement spirals out of control.”

Scotish Lib Dem leader Alex Cole Hamilton lays the blame squarely on the Scottish Government:

“Think of the white elephants the SNP has splurged cash on: independence, the ferries debacle, the embassies so they can play ‘dress-up diplomat’. All of this could have gone to councils to allow them to settle these very reasonable pay expectations.”

Talking of white elephants, our cash-strapped city council chose yesterday to announce £1 BILLION plans for a new North-South tram line … but that’s another story!

Responding to the Edinburgh refuse workers’ industrial action, Labour Lothian list MSP Foysul Choudhury said: “SNP representatives should get off their high horse about the ongoing industrial action when they should have been canvassing their own party in the Scottish Government to agree extra cash with COSLA for councils to pay workers a fair wage, rather than expecting Edinburgh City Council to cut services elsewhere.

“It is up to the Scottish Government and COSLA to agree further funding, and then up to COSLA and the unions to agree the terms of any new pay deal, not Edinburgh City Council. As a former City Councillor, Deidre Brock knows this and yet has pretended otherwise in the media.

“Nobody wants to see the streets of Edinburgh in their current state, but the ongoing industrial action shows what a crucial job refuse and recycling workers do and demonstrates why we should be paying them fairly for their work.

“At the same time it is ridiculous for SNP representatives to lay the strike at the hands of a Labour-led council when it is their party which has repeatedly slashed local government budgets in real terms, forcing councils to cut their services to the bone.

“If the SNP really wanted to avoid these strikes rather than play politics, they should have come to an agreement with COSLA sooner, or better still, avoided imposing successive years of painful austerity for local authorities across Scotland.”

UNITE City of Edinburgh Branch pointed out: “Misinformation on #edinburghbinstrikes today is rife. Strike is a national dispute—one council can’t stop it. 14 more councils tomorrow.

“Local government funding has been slashed for a decade. Idea that 5% definitely would have stopped this is a fantasy. An insulting one at that.”

STUC General Secretary Roz Foyer is backing the striking unions. In a tweet yesterday, Ms Foyer said: “Solidarity to all of you. Keep fighting!

“All Scotland’s local government workers deserve a decent pay rise for the vital work you do. Let’s show our support on the picket lines across Scotland tomorrow.”

PLANNED INDUSTRIAL ACTION:

Unison

School and early years workers will strike on 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th September, joining UNISON waste and recycling staff who will have already started their strike action on 26th, 27th, 28th and 29th August and 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th September.

Unite

Strikes will be held between the 18th August – 30th in Edinburgh with a second wave expected in a further 14 local authorities this week.

Aberdeen City, Angus, Clackmannanshire, Dundee, East Ayrshire, East Lothian, East Renfrewshire, Falkirk, Glasgow, Highland, Inverclyde, South Ayrshire, South Lanarkshire and West Lothian.

Unite Campaign Page

Unison

In the first wave of action cleansing workers will strike in Aberdeenshire, Clackmannanshire, East Renfrewshire, Glasgow City, Inverclyde, North Lanarkshire, Stirling and South Lanarkshire councils for the first wave of strike action to take place on 26th, 27th, 28th and 29th August and 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th September.

Unison Campaign Page

GMB

Cleansing workers will strike in Aberdeenshire, Clackmannanshire, East Renfrewshire, Glasgow City, Inverclyde, North Lanarkshire, Stirling and South Lanarkshire councils for the first wave of strike action to take place on 26th, 27th, 28th and 29th August and 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th September.

City of Edinburgh Council: Disruption to Waste Services

We appreciate the impact and inconvenience this will cause you and appreciate your understanding. Please help us to keep the city as clean and safe as possible during the strike by following this guidance:

  • Regularly check our website and Twitter account for updates on services suspended and when collections will restart in your area.  Be aware normal collections may take a while to get back to schedule after the strike ends.
  • Don’t put any bins, boxes or bags out for collection until the situation changes.
  • Stock up on strong black bags, and be prepared to fill, seal and store these with extra waste. 
  • When separating your recycling, please try to flatten all cardboard and crush drinks cans and bottles.  You can bag these up, separated, to empty into the recycling bin when you can.
  • Store waste sensibly and safely. If possible, use and share empty garage space with your neighbours or store bags in your garden or driveway.
  • Don’t store waste in stairwells or landings, where it could become a fire hazard.
  • Be careful not to block bin chutes or overfill them.
  • Keep all food waste separate and in an enclosed container, to help prevent smells attracting wildlife.
  • Talk to your neighbours and share responsibility for keeping spillages to a minimum.  Help neighbours who may need support managing their waste. Explain the situation to those who may not have heard.
  • Please do not leave bags or any bulky items next to full bins. These will not get cleared away and could become a hazard.
  • Join with neighbours to do local litter picking clean ups, especially around on-street bins and litter bins on your street. 
  • If a bin is full to overflowing, don’t use it, particularly for dog fouling.  Please either use a bin that’s not full or take it home and double bag it to reduce smells.

Report a waste emergency

If you need to report an emergency issue where waste is causing injury or hazard call us and listen to select an option carefully.  Phone 0131 608 1100, from Monday -Thursday 1000-1600 and Friday 1000-1500.  After these hours, phone 0131 200 2000.

You can also email waste@edinburgh.gov.uk with the specific location and details of the issue.

Just Transition: Government must act on decarbonisation recommendations

Trade unions and environmental organisations are calling on the Scottish Government to show real commitment to fairly cutting climate pollution throughout the economy and to embrace the recommendations of the new Just Transition Commission’s first report published today.

The Just Transition Partnership, an initiative set up by Scottish Trades Union Congress and Friends of Earth Scotland in 2016, had called on the Scottish Government to set up the Commission.

The Partnership praised the first report of the new Just Transition Commission for its sharp focus on closing the investment gap, delivering a better deal for workers, tackling inequalities at every level and the need for a global just transition.

The report also calls for:

 + targeted investment in public transport, expanding rail networks, making services affordable and improving provision in remote and rural areas, rejecting Scottish Government proposals for cuts to the railway;

 + urgently tackling fuel poverty and “affordable clean energy [to be made] be available to all…addressing pricing barriers for renewable sources and reducing energy consumption through increased efficiency”;

 + the new National Care Service to be placed “firmly within the public sphere, with a robust public investment plan and a human rights delivery approach at the local, regional and national level”;

 + a new approach to industrial planning to address the “challenges of large-scale decarbonisation, the cost-of-living emergency and the climate emergency [and which] demand a whole system transformation”;

 + prioritising a ‘do no harm’ approach overseas, recognising that Scotland’s “position as an advanced economy was gained through the historic exploitation of fossil fuels, and indeed the natural resources of formerly colonised regions”.

STUC Deputy General Secretary Dave Moxham said: “We have long argued for a coherent low-carbon industrial strategy that creates decent unionised jobs through significant public investment and places the voice of workers at its core via trade union involvement at national and workplace level.

“This report lays out some of the important steps that the Scottish Government should take to achieve a Just Transition in areas such as energy, buildings and transport to ensure that workers and their communities are not left behind.

“The National Care Service recommendations are welcome. As with energy, we believe public ownership is best for tackling the climate and cost of living emergencies. Taking care services away from local government damages local delivery and accountability.”

Friends of Earth Scotland Head of Campaigns Mary Church said: “From investing in and expanding public transport to making clean energy available and affordable to all, this report outlines a series of clear recommendations for a transformative programme of climate action that can serve people and the planet.

“It also highlights the need for contingency plans where negative emissions technologies are relied on, a timely echo of repeated warnings on this front with the Scottish Government’s recent admission that these technologies won’t deliver for 2030.

“It’s hugely welcome that the report calls for an approach to just transition that does no harm overseas, particularly in the global south, and the duty on Scotland as a rich,  historical polluter in creating an enabling environment for a global just transition through climate finance, knowledge and resource sharing.

“The Scottish Government must now take rapid action to deliver on these recommendations to plug the gaping hole in its climate plan and ensure we can hit climate targets, tackle the energy price crisis while creating new opportunities for workers and communities across the country, and paying our climate debt to the global South.”

Ministers will have an opportunity to show their commitment to a Just Transition by incorporating the report’s recommendations in the draft revised Energy Strategy and Just Transition Plan which is scheduled for consultation in Autumn and in the forthcoming Climate Change Plan, expected in spring 2023.

making-future-initial-report-2nd-transition-commissionDownload

SCOTLAND’S SOCIAL CARE RIP OFF

STUC: WHY SCOTLAND CAN’T AFFORD PRIVATISED SOCIAL CARE

The Scottish Government’s approach to their new National Care Service has been declared “untenable” by Scotland’s largest trade union body.

Launching their report ‘Profiting from care: why Scotland can’t afford privatised social care’, the Scottish TUC (STUC) has accused the Scottish Government of “falling glaringly short” in their plans for a transformative National Care Service.

The trade union organisation, representing unions from across health and social care, is calling for the Scottish care home estate to be transferred out of private ownership in totality.

Research within the STUC report reveals that Scotland’s large private social care providers are associated with lower wages, more complaints about care quality, and higher levels of rent extraction than public and third sector care providers.

Under current Scottish Government plans, the proposed National Care Service would remain “ownership neutral”, embedding a role for the private sector in social care.

The research finds:

• Nearly 25% of care homes run by big private providers had at least one complaint upheld against them in 2019/20, compared to 6% of homes not run for profit.

• In older people’s care homes, staffing resources are 20% worse in the private sector compared to the not-for-profit sector. • Privately owned care homes only spend 58% of their revenue on staffing, compared to 75% in not-for-profit care homes.

• Over the last six years, the public sector has paid on average £1.60 more per hour to care workers.

• The most profitable privately owned care homes take out £13,600 per bed (or £28 of every £100 received in fees) in profits, rent, payments to the directors, and interest payments on loans. This compares to £3.43 in every £100 in fees for the largest not-for-profit care home operators.

The report argues that a truly transformative National Care Service must be based on a not-for-profit public service, delivered through local authorities with an ongoing role for the voluntary sector.

Roz Foyer, STUC General Secretary, said: “Our new STUC research clearly shows that large privately owned care homes perform worse than not-for-profit care homes at almost every level. They are worse for those receiving care, worse for the workers providing care and worse for the taxpayer.

“It simply isn’t the case that Scotland can’t afford to buy out private care homes, we can’t afford not to. As it stands, the Scottish Government are falling glaringly short in offering the transformative shake up to social care Scotland badly needs.

“As the National Care Service Bill makes its way through Parliament, politicians must focus their attention on the kind of organisations we want to provide care for our citizens, not as seems to be the case just now, the centralisation of commissioning and outsourcing procedures.”

The recommendations have been backed by Care Home Relatives Scotland. The influential group, set up during the pandemic, have been working to strengthen relatives rights as a result of care home visitation restrictions during COVID-19.

Catherine Russell, Care Home Relatives Scotland: “This report should be essential summer reading for every member of the Scottish Parliament.

“The research findings endorse everything Care Home Relatives Scotland said in our response to the NCS consultation. Our fear is that millions will be spent on upheaval and reorganisation when the priority must be to focus on improvements and with resources on the frontline where they are desperately needed.

“We also share the STUCs grave concerns about the further marketisation of social care and community health services.

“As the report demonstrates, private homes are not the most cost effective or highest quality. They are extremely costly for residents who need to pay and the profit motive tends to drive down staff conditions.

“Scotland can and should find a better, fairer way to do things and this research will be a very useful contribution to that debate.”

Profiting_from_Care_ReportDownload

Do not put our human rights at risk!

The STUC is standing alongside 125 civil society organisations across Scotland to support the Human Rights Act and oppose the #RightsRemovalBill:

JOINT STATEMENT ON THE UK RIGHTS REMOVAL BILL

Our human rights are about the values we hold dear and the way we treat one another – they are about dignity, fairness, equality, tolerance, and respect. They are the foundations that help us live together freely and fairly – a safety net to protect us all.

We are therefore alarmed that the UK Government has introduced a Bill to Parliament which, if enacted, will repeal the Human Rights Act and will significantly
diminish protection for human rights in law.

Our experience of working with individuals and communities across Scotland is that the Human Rights Act 1998 (HRA) is an essential protection for our human rights. Indeed, many of our organisations submitted evidence to the Independent Review of the Human Rights Act detailing the ways in which the HRA is working well. We also collectively gave many hours of our time to respond to the UK Government’s consultation on proposals for this Bill of Rights. However, both the Panel’s
recommendations and the consultation responses have been disregarded by the UK Government in the development of this Bill.

We are very concerned that there are many elements to this Bill that will significantly reduce human rights protection. These include, for example, restricting / narrowing our relationship with the European Court of Human Rights, lowering standards of protection, and making it harder for the court to protect us from serious and irreparable harm.

The rights removal bill will undermine all of our human rights and significantly impact the realisation of rights for individuals whose human rights are currently most at risk. The UK Government’s proposals for reform are out of step with political and public opinion in Scotland. There is overwhelming support across Scotland to go forwards and not backwards on human rights, for a strong human rights legal
framework and not one that is watered down.

We therefore strongly urge the UK Government to reconsider this Bill and instead, consider what can be done to better protect human rights for all in Scotland, and across the UK.

This statement is supported by 125 organisations:

final-joint-statement-rights-removal-bill-june-2022_signed_01-07-2022Download

Scotland set for a Summer of Strikes?

Public sector workers seem set on a collision course with local and national government over inadequate wage rises …

The General Secretary Designate of teachers union the EIS yesterday urged all of Scotland’s teachers to get active in the campaign to secure a 10% pay rise.

Ms Bradley addressed delegates on the final day of the EIS Annual General Meeting (AGM) at Dundee Caird Hall, and just ahead of a rally in support of the EIS ‘Pay Attention’ Campaign in the Civic Square outside the conference venue.

Addressing the AGM, Ms Bradley said, “The obvious and pressing priority is our Pay Attention campaign. We’ve staked our claim, nailed our colours to the mast … now we need to win.

“Listening to our speakers on the issue of pay over the last few days, I know we’ve got what it takes to win this. To win it because it’s simply unacceptable that teachers and other public sector workers would be expected to bear the burden of yet another crisis that’s been created by the economic vandalism of the Tory government and a Cabinet of millionaires …utterly morally bankrupt and more intent on callous racketeering and profiteering than they are on caring about people and supporting recovery.”

“We can’t allow COSLA to peddle the myth of the One Workforce agenda. Or the Scottish Government to quietly sit there on the side-lines being let off the hook by a raft of egalitarian-sounding rhetoric that’s in truth about pay suppression for teachers and by dint of that the rest of the public sector. We know One Workforce is utter fallacy and I have a sense that the other public sector unions know it as well.”

“If we’re to win a pay rise that protects teachers’ incomes from the worst of the cost of living increases, from every corner of the union, we need to keep building what will be a formidable display of our union strength.  We’ve started building this – the press statements, the campaign materials, the branch meetings, the petition, the social media activity, and the demo outside this building later this morning.”

“With full-blown organising, comms and political campaigning… synchronicity of actions with local associations, we’ll be ballot ready, strike ready by October and with a strong industrial action strategy mapped out so that we’re strike ready and strike able.

“From the speeches and applause that we’ve heard this AGM about pay and the other inter-related injustices it sounds like you’re well up for taking this on …and so am I!”

COSLA STATEMENT ON PAY NEGOTIATIONS

COSLA is deeply disappointed that the First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Finance have refused the request of all Council Leaders to engage in discussions regarding the current settlement for Local Government and its significant impact on our ongoing pay negotiations.  

The implications of the Scottish Government’s spending plans for the rest of the parliament are deeply concerning for communities across Scotland and have further increased the already strong likelihood of industrial action in the coming months.  

Scottish Government continues to fail to respect the fundamental role Local Government and its workforce has in addressing their own priorities of tackling child poverty, climate change and a stronger economy.

The ‘Resource Spending Review’, published on 31 May, shows that Local Government’s core funding for the next 3 years will remain static at time when inflation and energy costs are soaring.

This “flat-cash” scenario gives no scope to recognising the essential work of our staff, whose expectations, quite rightly, are being influenced by Scottish Government’s decisions in relation to other parts of the public sector. A suggestion that increases in welfare payments will mitigate the cost of living crisis do not recognise that our staff should not have to depend on such payments to make ends meet.

As things stand, the only option available to Councils is yet fewer jobs and cuts to services that are essential to communities everywhere.

COSLA’s Resources Spokesperson Gail Macgregor said:  “COSLA, every year, argues for fair funding for Local Government to maintain the essential services our communities rely on.  

“No increase in our core funding damages these services and limits the options we have in successfully concluding pay negotiations. Refusal to engage in discussion will only see this continue and our communities will see and feel the difference.”

The Fraser of Allander Institute has recognised the impact on councils:  “The local government budget will decline by 7% in real terms between 2022/23 and 2026/27 … the real terms erosion of the funding allocations of local authorities represents the continuation of a longer trend.”

UNISON, Scotland’s largest local government union, will be balloting its members in a dispute over pay. The union is planning targeted strike action – this means select groups of workers will be balloted.

UNISON is campaigning for a pay rise for ALL local government workers.

The groups that will be balloted for strike action are members employed working in schools, who provide services to the running and operation of the school, and all members working in early years and in waste and recycling services. The union is recommending that vote ‘YES’ in favour of strike action.

The ballot will run from 10 June and will close on 26 July. It is vital that all ballots are posted back in good time to ensure we receive them by closing date.

Why are we balloting?

Having consistently worked above and beyond to keep our key services going over the past two years of the pandemic, and with the cost of living spiralling, COSLA’s offer of a 2 per cent pay increase for local government workers is nothing short of an insult.

While politicians have raced to praise your efforts their warm words have not been matched by action.

Earlier this year we ran an online consultation to see what you and other local government members thought of the employers’ 2022 pay offer. It was no surprise that the overwhelming majority of you voted to reject the offer and indicated your willingness to take action to achieve a better deal.

Nothing has changed since then and we now need you to vote YES to take strike action to remind your employers exactly how you feel.

This offer is derisory. It is less than the Scottish Public Sector Pay policy, falls far short of our pay claim and is significantly below current levels of inflation. It will exacerbate the gap between those on the lowest and those on the highest rates of pay.

And it is in sharp contrast to the 5.2% increase that councillors themselves have just received from 1st April 2022.

GMB Scotland has attacked “failure at all levels of government” as an industrial action ballot across local government gets underway this morning (Monday 6 June) against the threats of a 2 per cent pay offer and swingeing cuts to local jobs and services.

Nearly 10,000 GMB members in waste and cleansing and schools and early years services will be asked if they back strikes in the face of a pay offer from employer body COSLA amounting to less than £10 a week for staff earning under £25,000 a year.

Joint trade unions in local government wrote to the First Minister and the Finance Secretary last week seeking urgent talks and warned about the consequences for council workers of significantly below inflation pay with the cost of living at a forty-year high.

The ballot, which runs throughout the summer until Tuesday 26 July, also takes place amid dire forecasts for local government budgets following the Scottish Government’s spending review plans.

GMB Scotland Senior Organiser Keir Greenaway warned: “Council workers and the vital services they deliver are firmly in the sights of Kate Forbes’s cuts agenda, and if left unchallenged the lowest paid will pay the highest price in the biggest cost-of-living crisis for 40 years.

“This is what years of failure at all levels of government looks like – a decade of failed austerity, the passing on of cuts to communities, and a meek acceptance of the consequences locally. It’s a far cry from the doorstep applause of virtue-signalling political leaders just two years ago.

“It shows everyone there are no political superheroes and if you want wages that confront soaring inflation then you need to organise and fight for it.

“That’s exactly what our members are doing and unless an improved pay offer is tabled then industrial action looks inevitable.”

RMT launch 3 days of national strike action across the railway network

Over 50,000 railway workers will walkout as part of 3 days of national strike action later this month, in the biggest dispute on the network since 1989.

The union will shut down the country’s railway network on 21st, 23rd and 25th June, due to the inability of the rail employers to come to a negotiated settlement with RMT.

Network Rail and the train operating companies have subjected their staff to multiyear pay freezes and plan to cut thousands of jobs which will make the railways unsafe.

Despite intense talks with the rail bosses, RMT has not been able to secure a pay proposal nor a guarantee of no compulsory redundancies.

In a separate dispute over pensions and job losses, London Underground RMT members will take strike action on June 21st.

RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said: “Railway workers have been treated appallingly and despite our best efforts in negotiations, the rail industry with the support of the government has failed to take their concerns seriously.

“We have a cost-of-living crisis, and it is unacceptable for railway workers to either lose their jobs or face another year of a pay freeze when inflation is at 11.1pc and rising.

“Our union will now embark on a sustained campaign of industrial action which will shut down the railway system.

“Rail companies are making at least £500m a year in profits, whilst fat cat rail bosses have been paid millions during the Covid-19 pandemic.

“This unfairness is fuelling our members anger and their determination to win a fair settlement.

“RMT is open to meaningful negotiations with rail bosses and ministers, but they will need to come up with new proposals to prevent months of disruption on our railways.”

A snap poll from the Trades Union Congress (TUC) and Opinium showed the cost of living was the top issue for 75% of the Scottish electorate when casting their ballot in May.

This was followed by 60% citing the NHS as their primary concern, with public services (21%), housing (15%), Brexit (20%) and the environment (19%) all taking voter preference over the constitution (14%).

The news was cited as a ‘wake-up call’ from the Scottish Trades Union Congress leader Roz Foyer, who will host a specific cost of living crisis summit on June 17th with the Poverty Alliance.

Ms Foyer said: “These elections should be a wake-up call to all levels of government – local, Scottish and UK – that workers throughout the country need urgent and sustained help in the face of this brutal attack on their living standards.

“By far and away, with 75% of the electorate in Scotland citing the cost of living crisis as their top concern, with health, housing and the environment their taking preference over the constitution, all incoming councillors must make this their most urgent priority.

“Our local government manifesto made clear we need sustained investment from the Scottish Government to local authorities throughout the country, helping to deliver a real terms pay increase for our public sector workers. This is in addition to delivering on rent freezes, settling equal pay disputes and introducing universal free school meals throughout the country.

“This is the type of real terms action we need from councillors and government throughout Scotland. Our movement, with affiliates currently balloting for industrial action across the country, are not standing idle whilst workers face this material threat to their living conditions.”

Resource Spending Review: Ambitious but realistic?

An ‘ambitious but realistic’ public spending framework has been published which outlines how more than £180 billion will be invested to deliver priorities for Scotland.

The Resource Spending Review, which is not a budget, outlines how the Scottish Government will focus public finances in the coming years to tackle child poverty, address the climate crisis, strengthen the public sector as Scotland recovers from Covid and grow a stronger, fairer and greener economy.

A targeted capital spending review has also been published to address a reduction in capital investment by the UK Government. As well as supporting the NHS and affordable housing, the capital spending review will invest around £18 billion up to 31 March 2026, with over half a billion of additional funding directed to net zero programmes compared to previous plans.

Finance Secretary Kate Forbes said: “We are of course still recovering from the Coronavirus pandemic. There is still acute pressure on the NHS, on business and the wider economy. The illegal Russian invasion of Ukraine is a humanitarian crisis, which is affecting the global economy. Rising energy prices and constrained supply chains have affected countries worldwide. While inflation is also  impacting other countries, it is not impacting them equally.

“The UK currently has the highest inflation of any G7 country– almost twice the rate of France.  Brexit has made this problem worse, with increases in food prices, hitting the poorest hardest. We are experiencing an unprecedented cost of living crisis. Inflation is at a 40-year high of 9 per cent with households facing considerable hardship.

“Today’s Resource Spending Review is not a Budget. However, it is essential to share high-level financial parameters with public bodies, local government and the third sector, so we can plan ahead together.

“Today I set out an ambitious but realistic public spending framework for the years ahead. It does not ignore the realities of our financial position, but neither does it roll back on our ambitions for change.”

Further changes to Scotland’s fiscal position and to tax and social security forecasts are expected to change the funding picture ahead of annual budgets.

The spending review however does prioritise sending in key policy areas.

These are:

Tackling child poverty and supporting households and businesses with the cost of living

  • £22.9 billion for social security assistance
  • increasing the Scottish Child Payment from £10 to £25 and expanding eligibility by the end of this year
  • providing universal free school meals to primary school children in P1-5 and expanding provision beyond that
  • uprating devolved benefits

Securing stronger public services

  • investing £73.1 billion in health and social care including developing a National Care Service
  • increasing investment in frontline health services by 20 per cent over this Parliament
  • spending more on primary and community care to ensure people get the right treatment in the right place
  • funding of £42.5 billion for local government for the delivery of services
  • investing £11.6 billion in the justice system

Achieving net zero and tackling the climate crisis

  • up to £75 million per year to deliver the Heat in Building Strategy, enabling £1.8 billion investment towards decarbonisation
  • up to £95 million towards meeting woodland creation targets
  • £46 million to introduce the community bus fund and an increase in funding for concessionary travel schemes
  • investment of over £12 million in peatland restoration
  • £4 million of resource spending alongside £150 million capital and financial investment for the North East and Moray Just Transition Fund

Building a stronger, fairer and greener economy

  • capital investment of £581 million to support the economy, including our enterprise agencies and the Scottish National Investment Bank
  • continuing through the Inward Investment Plan to attract high quality inward investment in areas such as energy transition and the space sector
  • pushing forward with the export growth plan A Trading Nation to scale up Scotland’s international reach
  • embedding entrepreneurship in education, to give young people opportunities to start and grow businesses

The spending review provides a platform for engagement ahead of the next budget on how best to reform Scotland’s high performing public sector to become more efficient, to deliver ambitious outcomes. That means rapidly digitalising the public sector, maximising revenue through public sector innovation, reforming the public sector estate and the public body landscape, and improving public procurement.

The annual Medium Term Financial Strategy has also been published to provide the economic and fiscal context for the Resource Spending Review and Capital Spending Review, including the fiscal challenges that lie ahead.

Read the Cabinet Secretary’s statement to the Scottish Parliament in full here.

COSLA has stated that the implications of the Scottish Government’s spending plans for the rest of the parliament are deeply concerning for communities across Scotland and fail to recognise the fundamental role Local Government has in addressing the Government’s own priorities of child poverty, climate change and a stronger economy.

The ‘Resource Spending Review’, published on 31 May, shows no prospect of an increase to Local Government’s core funding for the next 3 years, which is especially concerning in the current context of soaring inflation and energy costs.

This “flat-cash” scenario gives extremely limited scope for recognising the essential work of our staff, whose expectations around pay continue to be, quite rightly, influenced by Scottish Government’s decisions in relation to other parts of public sector. Put simply, the plans as they stand will mean fewer jobs and cuts to services. COSLA is seeking an urgent meeting with the First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Finance to discuss this further.

COSLA’s Resources Spokesperson Gail Macgregor said “Every year at Budget time, COSLA argues for fair funding for Local Government to maintain the essential services our communities rely on.

“No increase in our core funding damages these services and yesterday’s announcement will see this continue for at least the next three years. Our communities are starting to see and feel the difference”

Yesterday, the Fraser of Allander Institute also immediately recognised the impact on councils –   “The local government budget will decline by 7% in real terms between 2022/23 and 2026/27…….the real terms erosion of the funding allocations of local authorities represents the continuation of a longer trend”

Commenting on the resource spending review, a spokesperson for the Scottish Children’s Services Coalition commented: “The Scottish Government’s resource review, which highlights a spending gap of around £3.5 billion by 2026/27, points to highly challenging times ahead for our public services (1st June 2022).

“The Fraser of Allander Institute noted that, within this, councils will see real term cuts of 7 per cent between 2022/23 and 2026/27, the implications of which are highly disturbing for those with additional support needs (ASN) who we support.

“Those with ASN make up around a third of our children and young people, including autism, dyslexia and mental health problems, many of whom were already facing considerable barriers to support and not receiving the care they need when they need it.

“While we have witnessed a more than doubling in the number of these individuals over the last decade, putting an immense strain on services, there has been a cut in spending on additional support for learning and a slashing in specialist educational support.

“Covid-19 has had a further major impact, denying care to many, and with these latest swingeing public service cuts we are potentially facing a ‘lost generation’ of vulnerable children and young people.

“We would urge the Scottish Government and newly elected councils to work together to ensure that those children and young people with ASN are made a priority, able to access the necessary support to allow them to reach their full potential.”

The STUC have yet to comment on the Spending Review.

Coalition launches Covid Safety Pledge

A coalition of trade unions, covid safety groups and the Independent SAGE have launched a new ‘Covid-19 Safety Pledge’, designed to ensure workplaces adopt measures to minimize the spread of COVID-19 infections.

The Pledge, aimed at workplaces in both the public and private sectors, asks employers to sign up to three key commitments: protect workers and customers from Covid-19, risk assess their premises and practices to safeguard against infection and specifically ask any workers who test positive for Covid to stay at home while infectious and to provide the support necessary for them to do so.

Employers who sign up for the scheme will be presented as a covid safe workplace, with their name displayed on the Pledge website (covidpledge.co.uk) in addition to being able to display the Pledge sign within their premises.

The move has been backed by the Scottish Trades Union Congress (STUC) in addition to covid support groups such as Covid Families for Justice and Clinically Vulnerable Families.

The STUC warned that employers in Scotland should not roll back on health and safety and support for staff. Supermarket giant Sainsbury recently introduced a policy that allows staff to attend work if infected with covid and punishes them for covid related absence.

Commenting, STUC General Secretary Roz Foyer said: “It’s vitally important that the legacy of COVID-19 isn’t a rollback on workers’ safety or rights. The Covid-19 Safety Pledge allows employers to stand by their workers, ensuring the highest levels of protection against infection are taken, in addition to supporting staff and consumer wellbeing whilst on their premises.

“For people across Scotland – especially those who are clinically vulnerable – this Pledge can act as a clear indicator of responsibility and support for employers wanting to do right by their staff, customers and service users.

“We are also calling on the Scottish Government to support the pledge. Our joint COVID-19 Fair Work Statement should be updated for the new circumstances but also to continue to commit to the fair treatment of workers and the control of the virus.”

Supporting unions with just transition

Funding ro support worker engagement

Scotland’s journey to net zero will be amplified thanks to better partnership working between the Scottish Government and trade unions to deliver a just transition.

At the Scottish Trades Union Congress (STUC) in Aberdeen, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon will announce £100,000 in grant funding to support just transition capacity within the trade union movement.

The money will be used by STUC to coordinate worker engagement on just transition, amplify and share best practice and provide policy support.

Unions will continue to be fundamental in delivering a just transition to a net zero and climate resilient Scotland, helping to ensure a low carbon economy prospers in Scotland. 

This year’s event marks the 125 years since the first STUC Annual Congress, and the First Minister said the case for a strong union movement never goes away, with addressing inequalities a key priority for the Scottish Government in helping Scotland to recover from COVID-19.

The First Minister said: “We want the trade unions to continue to influence and shape our delivery of a just transition. That’s why I’m glad to be able to confirm today that we are providing the STUC with annual funding of £100,000, to cover STUC staffing costs for officials who can liaise with workers and with government.

“The unions – through the creation of the Just Transition Commission – have already been fundamental to our policy thinking about a just transition. This funding will ensure that they continue to be vital, as we get on with delivering good, green jobs and a truly just transition.

“The Scottish Government economic strategy rests on the idea that by supporting those who are in poverty, by delivering a just transition, by supporting fair work – we can help people to fulfil their potential and to contribute to our economy and our society.

“That’s a principle which I know the STUC is also committed to. It’s why they are valuable partners, and also important sources of challenge, as we work to create a fairer, greener Scotland.”

STUC General Secretary Roz Foyer said: “The trade union movement has been at the forefront of pushing for a just transition, ensuring climate justice is entwined with workers’ voices.

“Our movement, our environment and our planet cannot afford any more false dawns which fail to empower workers and their communities. We’re pleased that the Scottish Government has recognised this.

“This funding, in addition to the work ongoing within the Just Transition Commission, will ensure we hold business, government and all other stakeholders to account.

“We must secure good, green jobs, we must not leave communities abandoned and we must place fair work and workers’ voices at the heart of any just transition.”

Scotland’s new National Strategy for Economic Transformation rubbished by environmentalists

A new National Strategy for Economic Transformation, underpinned by detailed analysis of Scotland’s economic strengths and weaknesses, has been published by the Scottish government.

The strategy contains over 70 actions across five key priority programmes that have been identified as having the greatest potential to deliver economic growth that significantly outperforms the last decade within the current constitutional arrangements.

Investment will be prioritised in entrepreneurialism, skills and retraining and the development of new markets and opportunities, particularly in the Just Transition to net zero.

Economy Secretary Kate Forbes says it provides renewed clarity on Scotland’s economic vision and a relentless focus on delivery in order to improve economic productivity, accelerate growth and ensure work provides a genuine route out of poverty through better quality jobs and higher wages. 

A sixth programme marks a step-change in the way the Scottish Government and business listen to, support and work with each other in this national endeavour to transform the economy. Shaped by the Advisory Council and extensive engagement with stakeholders, this will enable government, business and key partners to work together to create a more prosperous, more productive and more internationally competitive economy.

The Economy Secretary launched the Strategy at the Michelin Scotland Innovation Parc in Dundee, a location which embodies the potential transformation that can be realised by bringing the six key programmes of action together.

Ms Forbes said: “This strategy intentionally focuses on five key priorities, within Scotland’s current powers, that we believe will deliver most impact. These are based on extensive data analysis which does not ignore the short or long term challenges and seeks to meet them head on.

“It does so by identifying our key strengths as a nation and the economic opportunities with the greatest potential for Scotland.  Through our detailed analytical work we have identified significant and targeted action that can shift the dial in these areas, by doubling down on the work that is producing results and by working together to maximise our success.

“We must now be bold, ruthless and laser-focused to maximise the impact of the actions we have identified.  We all know the challenges of our day – the short term and the long term – but through the tumultuous times of the past, Scotland has pioneered solutions, created jobs and established highly successful businesses. The opportunities of decarbonisation, new technologies and successful industries are far greater than the challenges.

“This is a unique moment and we are ready, willing and able to lead the way and ensure Scotland capitalises on the opportunity.”

Chief Executive Officer of Entrepreneurial Scotland Sean McGrath said: “This strategy is recognition of not just the importance of starting new businesses, but of building an entrepreneurial mindset across all types of organisations and at all levels.

“It shows a huge belief in the ability of our immensely talented workforce in Scotland. It also calls on everyone who wants to see Scotland succeed to take part. This only works if we all want it to.”

Chief Executive of Energy Transition Zone Ltd Maggie McGinlay said: “I believe energy transition has a key role to play in realising this ambition.

“Scotland has an immediate competitive advantage in that we are blessed with a vast array of natural assets that, if harnessed the right way, means we can become globally recognised for high-value manufacturing, research, development and deployment of offshore wind, green hydrogen and carbon capture and storage. 

“The scale of the energy transition opportunity before us is huge and has the potential to contribute significantly to achieving true economic transformation for Scotland.”

Tracy Black, CBI Scotland Director, said: “Business will welcome the ambitions set out in the new ‘Economic Transformation Strategy’ as the right path for Scotland’s future economy.

“The Finance Secretary is also right to recognise the importance of delivery in turning high-level ambition into action – with business playing a vital role as a trusted partner. 

“As firms across the country navigate rising living costs, ongoing shortages and spiralling business costs, they will want to see any new initiatives or investments bear fruit sooner rather than later.”

Environmentalists are calling for an urgent and inclusive national debate on economic transformation after the Scottish Government’s new strategy failed to show how it will achieve its own vision of wellbeing and ensuring a just transition to a zero-carbon economy.

The National Strategy for Economic Transformation ‘Delivering Economic Prosperity’ was launched today by the Cabinet Secretary Kate Forbes. She was supported by her Advisory Council which has previously been criticised for its lack of environmental and social justice expertise.

It comes the day after the latest UN IPCC report gave a stark reminder of the urgency of the climate crisis and the need to transform economies away from fossil fuels to avert its worst impacts.

Commenting on the Strategy, Matthew Crighton, Sustainable Economy Adviser at Friends of the Earth Scotland said: “This economic strategy has environmental sustainability and wellbeing in its vision, which is welcome, but there is a lack of concrete ideas as to how its good intentions will be delivered.

“Everyone recognises the need to be greener and fairer but without any realistic plan to achieve these changes they will remain aspirational daydreams.

“To deliver a just transition to zero carbon, the government has to assess and secure the investments needed in each part of our economy. It then needs to set out expectations for job creation and social benefits, how to measure them and who will deliver them.

“Instead, it seems happy just to point the boat forwards and hope that the fickle winds of the market economy will blow it in the right direction.

“The focus on economic growth and entrepreneurship fails to show how this approach can deliver on these wider social and environmental benefits. Instead we have a repeat of lots of the tired old ideas that have helped bring us the current state of inequality, environmental breakdown and economic insecurity.

“The Scottish Government clearly hasn’t understood the roots of these problems nor recognised the mistakes of previous plans. Perhaps this is because it hasn’t spoken to either environmental experts nor to people at the sharp end of our current economic system.”

Ahead of the strategy launch, the ‘Transform Our Economy’ alliance produced Ten Points for a Transformative Economic Strategy against which to judge the Government’s plans. These ideas were backed by 40 academics and outline a new purpose at the heart of our economy: providing wellbeing for all within environmental limits.

Ten-Points-for-a-Transformative-Economic-Strategy-general-1Download

Crighton continued: “With our allies in the Transform Our Economy alliance, we prepared Ten Points to judge the new strategy, endorsed by 40 leading academics.

“Sadly the Scottish Government’s document gets poor marks against these, starting well with its overall vision but then failing, in particular on practical things like generating enough of the right investment streams, having clear tests for all finance and integrating new performance measures for decarbonisation and biodiversity into economic decisions.”

The document has also been criticised by the country’s leading trade unionist. Roz Foyer, STUC General Secretary who sat on the advisory group said: “Sadly, this is more a strategy for economic status quo than economic transformation.

“The National Strategy for Economic Transformation has a sprinkling of good ideas and we have successfully argued for some strong lines on the importance of Fair Work, decent pay and the role of trade unions, but overall, it is a missed opportunity to address the challenges before us and make real, transformational change.

“The main engine of the Scottish economy is the foundational economy. Unsurprisingly it is also the biggest employer. It encompasses transport, retail, energy generation, distribution and importantly education and public services.

“So, at the heart of the NSET should have been a strategy to increase pay and improve terms and conditions in these sectors. Investing in public services offers huge opportunity to support sustainable growth while tackling poverty and inequality.

“Over the coming years we face enormous challenges, none greater than the journey to net zero, a journey that must be carefully planned to ensure we create good, secure jobs that do not leave communities abandoned. Whilst the NSET talks about the potential for future development in the renewables and low carbon economy it fails to acknowledge previous failures or, more importantly, how we can learn from them and build a new industrial strategy.

“Scotland is not immune from global economic shocks, or the UK Government’s self-inflicted economic damage. Financialised capitalism embeds structural inequalities as evidenced by the escalating cost-of-living crisis.

“Addressing these structural inequalities is fundamental and it will certainly not be solved by prioritising becoming a ‘magnet for global private capital’ nor through the appointment of a ‘Chief Entrepreneurship Officer.’ Genuinely building new business start-ups is a good idea, flooding the economy with new start-ups, too many of which then fail, is not.

“The public sector has an enormous role to play in our economic transformation yet it is barely mentioned in the Scottish Government’s strategy. Neither is there any mention of tax – which is crucial to tackling inequality and raising revenue.

“Paying lip-service to community wealth building and the desire for a well-being economy will not deliver the change needed. If we are serious about economic transformation the Scottish Government must develop a green industrial strategy and invest in our public sector and the local authorities that make our vital services a reality.

“We will continue to engage with Scottish Government both on taking forward the more positive elements and aspirations of this strategy and to ensure the foundational economy is not left behind in Scotland’s economic future.”

Scottish Fire and Rescue Service sign TUC’s Dying to Work Charter and commit to employees

Charter protects rights at work for those facing a terminal illness

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) has signed up to the Dying to Work Campaign which aims to help employees who become terminally ill at work.

The campaign is managed by the Trades Union Congress (TUC) and employers are encouraged to sign up to a voluntary charter which makes a number of commitments to employees.

Signing the voluntary charter of the Dying to Work Campaign is an employer’s commitment to ensure that all employees who have a terminal illness have adequate employment protection and its aim is to provide financial security at a time when it is most needed.

The signatories on the charter include SFRS, Unison, Unite, the Fire Brigades Union (FBU), the Fire Officers Association (FOA), the Fire Leaders Association (FLA) and the Fire and Rescue Services Association (FRSA).

At SFRS head office in Cambuslang a joint signing ceremony was held on Monday, February 21 which was attended by the following:

  • Martin Blunden, Chief Officer, SFRS
  • Kirsty Darwent, Board Chair, SFRS
  • Liz Barnes, Director of People and Organisational Development. SFRS
  • Gillian Clark, Human Resources & Organisational Development Manager, SFRS
  • Pat Rafferty, STUC
  • Debbie Hutchings, Unite the Union
  • Ian Sim, Regional Secretary, FBU
  • David Crawford, Scottish Representative, FRSA
  • Andrew Hopkinson, National Secretary, FLA
  • Glyn Morgan, Strategic Advisor/Assistant Chief Executive, FOA

SFRS Chief Officer Martin Blunden, said: “We support the TUC’s Dying to Work Campaign and in signing the Dying to Work Charter, we show our continued commitment to the welfare of the staff of the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service.

“The health and wellbeing of our staff is a priority and when employees are faced with a serious or terminal illness, it is important that they are able to choose the path that is right for them and their families, without having the additional worry of financial uncertainty.

“We hope that the signing of this charter will provide reassurance to our employees that they have the support of their employer at a time when they need it the most.”

STUC President / Unite Scottish Secretary, Pat Rafferty, said: “The STUC wholeheartedly supports the Dying to Work Charter and we warmly welcome the SFRS showing leadership by committing to it as well.

“It’s vital that organisations and employers support workers who become terminally ill. In these circumstances the worker and their families face huge emotional stress, anxiety, and possible financial worries.

“The Dying to Work Charter can help to alleviate some of these stresses and sets out a progressive way in which workers should be treated, and supported in the event of a terminal diagnosis.

“The Charter is about giving an individual options around how they want to proceed at work. In some cases, an individual will want to continue to work for as long as they can while in other cases a person may decide that they do not want to work anymore, and would rather spend their remaining time with family and friends. Therefore, we thank the SFRS for signing the Charter and allowing workers to exercise choice in the most difficult of circumstances.”

FBU Regional Secretary Ian Sim, said: “The Fire and Rescue Service within Scotland has a proud history of treating terminally ill employees in a sympathetic and dignified manner, I am delighted that SFRS are now also making this public commitment by signing the Dying to Work Charter. 

“The Charter provides staff members and their family with peace of mind, financial security and freedom of choice at a time when they are facing the most heart-breaking of circumstances.”

Scottish Representative for the FRSA, David Crawford said: “The FRSA proudly supports the Dying to Work Charter which demonstrates a public commitment to treat terminally ill employees with the necessary support, while showing empathy and sensitivity in what is a very difficult time emotionally and financially for employees and their families.

“We would also wish to thank the SFRS and other stakeholders for signing the Charter, which emphasises the strength of feeling of just how important this matter is to all employees and how it could affect anyone within the organisation.”

National Secretary, Fire Leaders Association, Andrew Hopkinson said: “It is great to see the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service continuing to demonstrate their wholehearted commitment to looking after their employees by publicly signing up to the Dying to Work Charter.

“In doing so, they are joining a growing number of organisations across the UK who have given their staff the comfort of knowing they and their families will be well supported by the Service and treated with the respect and dignity they deserve should they be diagnosed with a terminal illness.”

Glyn Morgan, Strategic Advisor, Fire Officers’ Association said: “Adoption of the Dying to Work Charter is a very positive step for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service.

“Although it would be hoped that all employers would treat terminally ill employees and their families with compassion that may not always be the case. Signing the Charter is a very welcome commitment to support and assist people whilst alleviating worries about employment matters during very difficult times.”

Gillian Bannatyne, Regional Organiser Unison, said:  “It’s a sad truth that people of working age will contract terminal illnesses. If that happens they deserve support from their employer – either to continue working, or spend their remaining time with their loved ones.

“We are absolutely behind SFRS in making this commitment to those workers who find themselves in tragic circumstances, and we would urge other organisations to do the same.”