Sturgeon must act to protect local government services, says UNISON

Date: Tuesday 12 January 2016

UNISON local branches across Scotland are calling on Nicola Sturgeon, First Minister of Scotland, to meet UNISON members to hear about the damage Government policies are having on local government and to discuss the future of local services.

UNISON is the biggest trade union in local government and branch secretaries from across Scotland have written to the First Minister calling on her to intervene. UNISON has real and acute concerns about the state of local government in Scotland, brought on by both UK Government austerity and Scottish Government policy towards local government. 

Douglas Black, UNISON regional organiser for local government in Scotland said: 

"John Swinney’s spending review in December 2015 was met with disbelief by UNISON members. Local Government has borne the brunt of public sector cuts since 2008. Of the 50,000 jobs lost in devolved services, 40,000 have been in local government. And John Swinney’s latest budget means we will see many more cuts in local services and upwards of 10,000 more job losses.

"The situation is serious. Services are being privatised, community based services are stopping, grants to the voluntary sector are being slashed, caring services can provide only minimum client contact time, and we are seeing significant rises in charges for other services such as burials, school meals and leisure pursuits. This cannot continue. The First Minister must meet UNISON members to hear about the real damage being caused and to discuss the future of Scotland’s local services."

END

Notes:UNISON is the public services union, it is the biggest union in Scotland and the biggest union in local government.

ICT should focus on providing better services not cuts, says UNISON report

Date: Monday 30 November 2015

A UNISON Scotland report Disconnected, published today, 30 November 2015, claims that ICT services should focus on better services. The report highlights that ICT systems are all too often seen as a way of providing cheaper rather than improved public services.

This UNISON report is qualitative research of ICT staff across Scotland working across a range of public services. In local government, NHS, housing associations, universities, the police and elsewhere.

It finds that ICT systems are central to all our public services, ICT departments are feeling the brunt of cuts, and many ICT experts are leaving public sector either through redundancies or to find work elsewhere and they not being replaced.

ICT staff say they are not listened to. That morale is low. When they give warnings of problems coming down the line they are ignored. They see big opportunities to improve public services wasted in favour of short term savings to budgets. They feel ICT is too often seen as a way of delivering cuts rather than improving delivery of public services for us all. There is a lack of awareness of the potential of ICT

In common with other public services ICT staff say they are stressed by too much work and not enough people to deliver it. Staff talk of a ‘circle of decline’

Dave Watson, head of UNISON bargaining and campaigns said, ‘ICT is often thought of in terms of the hardware however its success is reliant on ICT staff and their understanding of public services and how we interact with technology. Public services must meet complex needs and ICT has a central role to play in that, it simply needs harnessed properly.’

Dave continued, ‘Public services ICT workers could make a real contribution to improving our public services, if we invested in them to develop their ideas. However employers tend to adapt private sector solutions with big promises to save budgets instead. In fact we are seeing big cuts in ICT staff and their departments, so it is no wonder we see big ICT projects going over budget or failing altogether.’

END

Notes

• Full UNISON report Disconnected:
  http://www.unison-scotland.org.uk/publicworks/
  Disconnected_ICTStaffSurvey_Nov2015.pdf
• UNISON Scotland is the public services union and the biggest union in Scotland. We represent ICT workers in public and community based services across Scotland

Fine words and ideals no substitute for investment: UNISON inquiry into Scotland’s libraries

Tuesday 8 September 2015

UNISON, the trade union for Scotland’s library staff, has published a report 'Read It and Weep', which outlines the experience of those working in Scotland’s libraries. It raises the concerns and difficulties of staff who are simultaneously being expected to expand services while being in the front line of cuts. 

The report is based on qualitative research from UNISON members working across Scotland’s libraries. The frustration on the part of staff is clear. They are well aware that the services they provide are not as good as they could be and they highlight the impacts that cuts are making. Library services have been undergoing massive change in recent years yet staff numbers have been going down, buildings are closing and opening hours reduced 

Gray Allan, UNISON Falkirk council branch spokesperson (and a librarian), said “There is no shortage of people willing to say libraries are a good thing. But what our libraries need isn’t just fine words and ideals but proper financing and investment. The Scottish Government has endorsed a national strategy for public libraries that talks of libraries being part of a shared civic ambition.

"There isn’t much point in giving every child in Scotland a library card if their local library is being closed or its hours have reduced so much it isn’t accessible. 

" Staff are keen to see their service move forward but that isn’t happening.”

END

UNISON Contact • Danny Phillips, communications officer 0141 342 2877 / 077944 664 110

NotesUNISON Scotland is the public services trade union. We represent library staff across Scotland. UNISON is the biggest trade union in Scotland.
The full report can be read here: 
http://www.unison-scotland.org.uk/publicworks/
ReadItandWeep_LibrariesStaffSurvey_Sep2015.pdf

Delivering leisure is no fun, says UNISON

Tuesday 9 June 2015

Staff delivering culture and leisure services across Scotland are coming under increasing pressure as job losses and lack of investment make their work increasingly difficult.

This is the finding of a report from UNISON, While wework you play - staff in Scotland’s leisure trusts speak out.

A survey of culture and leisure staff by UNISON found that over half regularly work more than their contracted hours and seventy one percent say that morale in their workplace has gone down in recent years. Staff say they are under increasing pressure as staff leave and are not replaced

The survey examines Sport Scotland figures on charging for services and discovers that prices for popular sporting activities have been increasing over the cost of inflation.