Tag: trade unions

NO DEAL: Unions reject new Cosla offer that’s ‘as good as it gets’

MORE BINS MISERY LOOMS AS FURTHER STRIKES PLANNED

COSLA last night expressed its disappointment with the Local Government Trade Unions reaction to ‘one of the best pay deals for their workforce in decades’.

The offer, negotiated on behalf of Scotland’s 32 councils, is an overall package worth half a billion pounds, giving 5% to all staff plus an additional cost of living payment to our lowest paid employees. Based on a 37-hour week no member of staff will get less than an additional £1925 and for those earning under £20,500 at least a £2,000 pay increase – for this year and also next year.

This has been designed to address the concerns and firm view of Trade Unions that the lowest paid must be protected during this crisis and demonstrates Local Government’s commitment to not leave anyone behind.  

Councils continue to strive to lead the way in pushing up minimum rates of pay and as well as this are including an extra days annual leave this year.

Councillor Katie Hagmann COSLA’s Resources Spokesperson said: “Council Leaders have said consistently throughout these negotiations that we absolutely value and are grateful to all of our local government workforce.

“It is perhaps only when waste starts piling up and there is the prospect of further disruption to life with school closures that others see the hidden value local government services deliver each and every day of the year in our towns, villages and cities.

“It is for this reason that we as employers have done everything possible to put the best offer we can to our workforce.  But we are now at the absolute extremes of affordability and this is already an offer which is stretching our already stretched finances like never before.

“This year’s offer is significantly better and different to previous offers and would have helped to support our Council workforces across the country at this difficult time.

“That support is crucial at any time but particularly now, during the cost of living crisis the country is facing.  This is why we are so disappointed with the response to it from our Trade Union colleagues.

“Given our commitment as Employers to get to this point, we are disappointed that Trade Unions will not suspend planned strike action whilst they put this offer to members to allow workers to get back to doing what they do best, delivering high quality, essential services right across Scotland.

“My final point to the Trade Union colleagues is that we have done everything we possibly can to get to this stage and that this offer – which is still on the table – is as good as it gets.”

UNISON responded: ‘Strikes to continue – We will recommend UNISON council members vote to reject the latest LG pay offer in a digital consultative ballot in the coming days.’

GMB Scotland and Unite, the two other unions locked in the local government dispute, also rejected the latest pay offer. GMB says the council pay offer feathers nests of service directors over frontline staff.

GMB Scotland Senior Organiser for Public Services Keir Greenaway said: “A flat rate award is a key demand from unions to ensure more consolidated money goes into the pockets of frontline workers and not the highest paid in our councils. COSLA knew this but instead tabled this offer as an across-the-board percentage rise that only feathers the nests of service directors.

“This was unacceptable to our local government committee members. It’s not credible that in the grip of the biggest cost-of-living crisis in forty years, and with inflation and energy bills soaring, a head of service gets four times the consolidated increase than a bin collector, cleaner or carer.

“That’s why we have written to COSLA again this evening urging them to return to talks as soon as possible and to negotiate a new offer based on a flat rate increase. If they don’t do this, then when our committee reconvenes tomorrow, we will outline our plans to fully consult GMB members.”

The big clean up begins in Edinburgh this morning – but unless a pay deal can be thrashed out we could be facing another round of industrial action in Auld Reekie as earky as next week.

UNITE members rallied outside the City Chambers yesterday to mark the end of the first wave of strikes – but made clear this dispute is far from over.

A Unite spokesperson said: “Unless they get an offer Local Authority workers deserve, Edinburgh will be joined by 19 other Councils to take further action from September 6th.”

One Day More!

Work to clear mountains of rubbish on Edinburgh’s stinking streets begins tomorrow

The City of Edinburgh Council is preparing to resume waste and cleansing services following industrial action.

With the scheduled strike due to end at 4.59am on Tuesday, additional resources are being deployed to support street cleansing and communal bin collections, particularly in the city centre and other areas most affected by the strike.

Residents receiving kerbside collections are being asked to put their bins out as normal on their scheduled collection day. Extra waste will be collected during this time, if it is bagged and put next to wheelie or communal bins

Blue box (glass) collections will continue to be suspended to prioritise resources, though Household Waste and Recycling Centres will reopen from Tuesday with extended hours. Bookings can be made online as normal.

Full details of bin collection days, the recovery plan and advice on dealing with waste can be found on the Council website.

Council Leader Cammy Day said: “I regret the impact this national crisis has had on our Capital city and am continuing to press the Scottish Government to fund an acceptable settlement. Talks are continuing over the weekend and I’m hopeful we can reach agreement and prevent any further disruption.

“As I’ve said throughout, I fully respect the right of our colleagues to take this action and have their voices heard. As a trade union member myself, I’ve joined the picket lines in support of fair pay for our workforce and will do so again.”

He may have joined a picket line, but Edinburgh’s Labour council leader has been criticised for voting AGAINST a 5% pay offer to the striking workers, instead voting with the Tories at a Cosla meeting to support an increase of just 3.5% – an offer that would never have been acceptable to the trade unions.

However Cllr Day went on:”This dispute has brought the value of our waste and cleansing teams – and their right to fair wage – into sharp focus and I’m delighted they’ll be back out from Tuesday, helping to return our city to its best.

“While they’ll be working hard to catch up on collections and making every effort to collect litter across the city, it’ll take time for things to return to normal. Please bear with them as they do so and, if you can store your extra waste safely for a little longer or are able to book an appointment at a recycling centre, please do so.

“If your bin is not collected on its normal day, please leave it out and it’ll be picked up as soon as possible thereafter.

“I appreciate that this has been an extremely challenging period for us all and I would like to thank our residents, businesses and visitors for their continued patience and understanding.”

While the industrial action in Edinburgh ends tomorrow, the pay claim has not been resolved and further strikes will follow unless a settlement can be reached. Some progress has been made however and a deal is edging closer – Cosla and the trade unions will meet for a fifth day of talks later today.

Services restart 30 August

Our bin collection and street cleaning services will restart on Tuesday 30 August.

We’ll be working hard to catch up on collections after the strike action.

If you are able to take excess waste, such as cardboard, plastics and other dry recycling, to the household waste recycling centres, please book an appointment. This would help our teams collect other waste more quickly. Recycling centres hours have been extended.

Thank you for your patience and understanding.

Communal services

  • Communal bin collections are restarting from 30 August.
  • We will collect excess waste – please bag it and place it neatly beside the bin. If you can, please put mixed recycling in a clear bag.
  • Do not leave large bulky items, like furniture or mattresses, beside bins. Please book a special uplift or book an appointment to take it to a recycling centre.
  • We have additional council teams helping with collections however it may take time for collections to get back to normal and we appreciate your patience.

Kerbside services

  • Restarting on 30 August and will be focused on key services.
  • There may be some disruption as we catch up on the backlog.
  • Please put your bins out on your next scheduled collection day. Check when your next scheduled collection day is.
  • If your bins are not emptied on your normal collection day, please leave them out until we get to them.

Non-recyclable waste collections (grey bins)

  • Restarting on 30 August. Please put your bin out on your next scheduled collection day.
  • We will collect excess waste as long as it is bagged. Please bag your extra waste neatly beside your wheelie bin on your scheduled collection day.

Mixed recycling collections (green bins)

  • Restarting on 30 August. Please put your bin out on your next scheduled collection day.
  • We will collect excess waste as long as it is bagged. Please bag your extra waste neatly beside your wheelie bin on your scheduled collection day. If possible, please bag your mixed recycling in a clear bag.

Food waste collections

  • Restarting on 30 August.
  • Please put your food bin out on your next scheduled collection day. Please do not present excess food waste outside the caddy.

Glass collections (blue box)

  • To allow us to catch up with collecting other waste, kerbside glass collections is still suspended. We will let you know when this collection will restart.
  • If you want to, you can make an appointment to take your glass to one of our household waste recycling centres.

Garden waste collections (brown bins)

  • Restarting on 30 August. Please put your bin out on your next scheduled collection day.
  • If you’re a garden waste customer, we’ll be in touch shortly with details of how we’ll compensate you for any collections missed during the strike.

Gull proof sacks

  • Please put your sack out for collection on your scheduled collection day this week.
  • We will collect extra waste. Please bag it and leave it neatly beside your sack.

Litter bins and street cleansing

  • These services will restart from 30 August.
  • Our street cleansing teams will be prioritising the city centre, town centres, and areas with high footfall and many on-street bins.
  • We’ll be working hard to collect litter across the city but it may take time to catch up on the backlog. Thank you for your patience.

Request and replacing bins and boxes

Our repair, replacement or removal of bins and boxes service is still suspended. This is to allow us to divert resources to cleansing and waste collections.

Waste reporting and enquires

We have removed online reporting for waste and cleansing as we focus on catching up with cleansing and waste collections.

If you need to report an emergency issue where waste is causing injury or hazard, please phone and listen to the new options carefully. Phone 0131 608 1100 from

  • Monday to Thursday between 10am and 4pm
  • Friday between 10am and 3pm  

After these hours, phone 0131 200 2000.

Local Government strikes: COSLA tables improved offer

Local government umbrella organisation Cosla has tabled an improved offer in a bid to end planned industrial action bu council workers.

COSLA Resources spokesperson Councillor Katie Hagmann said yesterday: “Following Leader’s Special meeting today they have mandated me to move forward with our trade union partners on the basis ofan offer that raises the overall value to 5% and in addition raises the Scottish Local Government Living Wage to £10.50.

“In doing so, Leaders have reaffirmed the need for a discussion with Scottish Government on how they can support Councils by providing flexibilities and long term funding support.

“This will limit the risk to public services and the impact on communities”.

Local Government trade unions will now take the improved offer to their members, but with inflation currently running at 10.1% it’s far from certain that the offer will be enough to end the ongoing strike here in Edinburgh and industrial action set to take place across Scotland next week.

The Bank of England has warned that inflation will exceed 11% this year and could go even higher.

Strike action began in Edinburgh on Thursday when GMB Scotland and Unite the union members employed by The City of Edinburgh Council took the first of 11 days of strike action.

A GMB spokesperson said: “Waste will pile up during the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. We make no apologies for this. Political leaders are to blame, and if they want to stop these strikes then our members need a pay offer that confronts this cost-of-living crisis.

“Our members won’t accept working poverty as an inevitability. They’re standing together and fighting for the pay rise they deserve.”

Stand Up for The Bin Workers!

Wednesday August 24, 9pm at The Stand Comedy Club

Gala comedy benefit to support striking refuse workers, starring Mark Thomas, Jason Byrne, Jo Caulfield, Kiri Pritchard-McLean, Mark Nelson, Shazia Mirza, Susie McCabe, Rachel Fairburn, Vladimir McTavish and Danny Bhoy

Edinburgh refuse workers, like all of us, are being hit hard by the cost-of-living crisis. They are on strike for a living wage. The money raised from the benefit, organised by The Stand Comedy Club & English comedian Mark Thomas, ‘One of the few stand-ups still to carry the political standard of alternative comedy’ (Chortle), will go straight to their official strike fund.

Mark Thomas (below) says: “These are the workers who got us through Covid and now they are being told to take a real cut in their wages. It’s unacceptable and they deserve our support in fighting back.”

GMB Support Worker Kirsten Muat says: “Too many local government workers across Scotland are already suffering in work poverty. The bin men in Edinburgh are striking to try and put an end to that.

“GMB are incredibly grateful to everyone supporting the striking workers, including all the comedians and members of the public coming along to the benefit gig.”

The support will go along to ensuring workers in Edinburgh waste and their families can survive this cost of living crisis and sustain action.

Rail strikes: Shapps speaks out

Transport Secretary, Grant Shapps said: “Today (27 July 2022), union bosses are once again trying to cause as much disruption as possible to the day-to-day lives of millions of hardworking people around the country.

“What’s more, it has been cynically timed to disrupt the start of the Commonwealth Games and crucial Euro 2022 semi-finals, in a deliberate bid to impact the travel of thousands trying to attend events the whole country is looking forward to.

“Sadly, this is nothing new. In fact, in my 3 years as Transport Secretary, there has not been a single day when unions have not been in dispute with the rail industry by either threatening or taking industrial action with around 60 separate disputes lodged in 2022 alone.

“This country’s taxpayers stumped up £600 per household to ensure not a single rail worker lost their job during the pandemic, but many of those very same people will be forced into losing a day’s wages through no fault of their own but because of stubborn union leaders’ refusals to modernise.

“Union bosses will claim they’re willing to do a deal but how can anyone take them seriously when, earlier this month, the RMT dismissed a Network Rail offer worth 8% over the next 2 years without even consulting their members.

“Unfortunately, it’s too late to call off today’s damaging strikes but I urge the RMT and indeed all unions to stop holding the country to ransom with the threat of further industrial action and get off picket lines and back around the negotiating table. If not, we risk passengers turning their backs on the railway for good.”

RMT Press Office issued the following statement yesterday:

There are reports based on anonymous briefings from the rail industry to the right-wing media that are wholly inaccurate regarding negotiations in this dispute.

The last offer we had from Network Rail was rejected by our National Executive Committee on 13 July. There has been no new offer since from Network Rail.

Claims about the “sentiment” expressed by Eddie Dempsey and relayed by anonymous industry sources to the Daily Telegraph are factually wrong.

We were optimistic about making enough progress to suspend strike action. That is how we always approach negotiations because RMT is serious about getting a negotiated settlement.

However, that evaporated when Network Rail hardened their position on attacking our members conditions of work and even threatening to put compulsory redundancies back on the table.

Anonymous rail industry sources are attempting to drive a wedge between striking members and our NEC which will fail.

Threatening us as they did with punishing our members with compulsory redundancies and 50% cuts in maintenance schedules is a poor negotiating tactic and will lead to extending the time it takes to reach a deal.

The RMT has not anonymously briefed the media at any point during this dispute or gone into great detail regarding the ins and outs of negotiations that are behind closed doors.

That is because we feel that would be an act of bad faith and the public are more interested in the substantive issues and whether we can reach a settlement.

Our strike action remains on tomorrow (Wednesday) and we will continue to work to get job security, a decent pay rise and good working conditions for our members in Network Rail and the Train Operating Companies.

TUC: Building Worker Power

ESSAY COLLECTION LAUNCHED

Union members’ rights are under ferocious attack by bad employers like P&O Ferries and by a government intent on hindering workers’ ability to demand better pay and conditions (writes TUC’s NINA REECE).

This will look familiar to trade unionists David Wilson and Terence Palmer who, 20 years ago, defeated hostile bosses and a Tory government in a long-running case that made it to the European Court of Human Rights. 

Their court victory is marked with the publication by the TUC of ‘Building Worker Power’, a collection of essays by leading lawyers, politicians and trade unionists. Their contributions outline the importance of the landmark Wilson and Palmer case, the challenges facing those fighting for union rights today and what modern collective rights would look like. 

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PHOTO CREDIT: © JESS HURD

In 1989, Daily Mail journalist David Wilson received a letter from his employer: it was not going to renew its recognition agreement with the National Union of Journalists. 

On top of this, any journalist who signed a contract of employment with the company before the agreement was due to end was given a 4.5 per cent pay rise. 

Meanwhile, RMT member, Terence Palmer worked for the ports in Southampton. 

His employer was also offering new contracts, this one coupled with a 10 per cent pay rise, on the condition that the workers would no longer be represented by his union, the RMT.  

This was union busting, plain and simple. The employers were withdrawing from collective bargaining and offering workers bribes to enter into personal contracts. Anyone who chose to remain within the collective agreement was denied the increased pay. 

With the support of their unions, Wilson and Palmer took their cases to industrial tribunal. They argued that the actions of their employers violated their rights: “the right to form and join trade unions for the protection of [one’s] interests”, an aspect of freedom of association protected under article 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).  

In his essay, Professor Keith Ewing reflects that this was not easy. There was a long legal battle and the Conservative government intervened, tinkering with the law to make it easier for employers to derecognise a union and remove the protections they afford. 

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Professor Keith Ewing speaking at the collection launch. PHOTO CREDIT © JESS HURD

Eventually, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) held that by permitting employers to discriminate against trade unionists, British law had violated the ECHR. 

In response to the 2002 ECtHR ruling, Section 145b of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act (TULRA) was established by a new Labour government. This meant that union members now had the right to not receive employer offers which, if accepted, would stop their terms and conditions from being determined by collective bargaining. 

David Wilson and Terence Palmer had won and the law had been changed. But this ruling had even further reaching consequences. 

In their essay, barristers Michael Ford QC and Stuart Brittenden show how in 2021, Section14b of TULRA was used again, when Unite members Dunkley and others won against Kostal UK Ltd at Supreme Court to establish that bosses can’t just ignore recognition agreements then claim that, even if they had ignored the collective procedures, they could not be penalised as they had not decided to do so permanently. 

Today, labour activists and law defenders continue the fight for our right to trade union activities. 

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TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady speaking at the collection launch. PHOTO CREDIT © Jess Hurd

UNISON’s Shantha David, and Thompsons’ Rachel Halliday show in their essays that government attempts to undermine human rights principles in UK law could make it far harder to advance collective rights. 

The proposed Bill of Rights would weaken the government’s obligation to ensure UK law reflects our convention rights and could leave workers with no choice but to challenge attacks on those rights at the ECtHR in Strasbourg, a costly and complicated process.

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Frances O’Grady and lawyer Rachel Halliday speaking at the collection launch. PHOTO CREDIT © JESS HURD

New plans have also been announced to allow agencies to supply workers to perform the duties of employees who are on strike, making it harder for working people to organise collectively and defend their jobs. 

In her foreword, Labour’s Angela Rayner makes a positive point: progress can be made by strong union organising and a robust legal strategy. 

The Wilson and Palmer case proves that workers and our unions can win. We need to be just as determined as they were. 

Download ‘Building Worker Power: Essays on collective rights 20 years after the Wilson and Palmer case established the right to be represented by a trade union’ here. 

Wilson-and-Palmer-Collection-High-ResDownload

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

National Care Service Bill published

“This is the most ambitious reform of public services since the creation of the NHS” – Humza Yousaf

Legislation to establish a National Care Service for Scotland (NCS) will ensure the best possible outcomes for people accessing care and support and end the ‘postcode lottery’ of care, says the Scottish Government.

The National Care Service Bill will make Scottish Ministers accountable for adult social care in Scotland – a change strongly supported by those responding to the recent consultation on the plans.

The Bill provides the foundation for the NCS, and enables the fine detail of the new  service to be co-designed with people who have direct experience of social care services.

Plans have also been published to explain how that collaboration will work.

The aims are to:

  • support people in their own homes or among family, friends and community wherever possible, with seamless transitions between services;
  • create a charter of rights and responsibilities for social care, with a robust complaints and redress process;
  • introduce rights to breaks for unpaid carers
  • introduce visiting rights for residents living in adult care homes, giving legal force to Anne’s Law
  • ensure fair employment practices and national pay bargaining for the social care workforce;
  • focus on prevention and early intervention before people’s needs escalate;
  • create a new National Social Work Agency to promote training and development, provide national leadership and set and monitor standards in social work.

On a visit to Aberdeen-based charity VSA, which supports people with a wide range of social care needs, Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care Humza Yousaf said: “This is the most ambitious reform of public services since the creation of the NHS.

“People have told us they want a National Care Service, accountable to Scottish Ministers, with services designed and delivered locally. That’s exactly what we are going to deliver.

“The design of the NCS will have human rights embedded throughout, and the actual shape and detail of how the NCS works will be designed with those who have direct experience of accessing and providing social care.

“We are going to end the postcode lottery of care in Scotland. Through the National Care Service we’re going to ensure everyone has access to consistently high-quality care and support so they can live a full life. This is our ambitious goal and while it will not be easy to achieve it is vital that we do.”

Social Care Minister Kevin Stewart said: “One of the key benefits of a National Care Service will be to ensure our social care and social work workforce are valued, and that unpaid carers get the recognition they deserve.

“When this Bill passes we will be able to have the new National Care Service established by the end of this parliament. In the interim we will continue to take steps to improve outcomes for people accessing care – working with key partners, including local government, and investing in the people who deliver community health and social care and support.”

Chief Operating Officer of VSA Aberdeen John Booth, said: “We welcome the announcement that the National Care Service Bill has been published. With this being the biggest reform since the creation of the NHS we will now take the time to properly review the bill to understand the opportunities and challenges that lie ahead.

“We look forward to working with the Scottish Government to co-design the NCS to ensure the voices and needs of the vulnerable people who rely on our vital services are heard.”

Local government umbrella body COSLA has issued a statement:

A massive restructuring project, limited resources, local government opposition … Now, what could possibly go wrong?

National Care Service (Scotland) Bill

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.”

Civil Service job cuts: Union responds

NATIONAL STRIKE ‘VERY MUCH ON THE TABLE’

PCS has warned of the consequences for everyone who relies on public services of Boris Johnson’s plans to cut up to 91,000 civil service jobs to tackle the cost-of-living crisis.

It is understood the prime minister wants to see civil service staffing levels cut to 2016 levels.

PCS General Secretary Mark Serwotka condemned the plans and said: “Cuts have consequences.

Not just on those whose jobs are being sacrificed to throw red meat to the dwindling number of Conservative voters, but on everyone who relies on the services our members provide. 

“The government complains about longer delays for passports and driving licences at the same time as sacking the people who are working so hard to clear the backlog. 

“Let’s be clear, this is not about efficiency. This is about the prime minister trying to create a smokescreen to detract from his utter shambles of a government. 

“He has chosen to cause our cost-of-living crisis and is desperate to point the blame somewhere – and he has chosen to point the finger at hard working PCS members who kept the country running throughout the pandemic. 

“Our members will not be the scapegoats for a failing government. We have our conference in 10 days’ time: taking national strike action is very much on the table.”