Monday 31 December 2012 (Hogmanay)
2012 has been a tough year for our vital public services and our
members who work hard to provide them. And 2013 looks as though it will be just
as challenging.
The austerity measures imposed by governments at Westminster and
Holyrood continue to impact heavily upon our public services - so vital to
local communities. UNISON will continue to challenge the need and the basis for
these attacks by government on our public services in the year ahead.
Local councils across Scotland will set budgets in February. We
will be challenging them too: will they be the agents of cuts or will they be champions
of their local communities?
We will continue fighting to protect jobs and services in specific
sectors - including our long-running campaign on police staff jobs, and in the
further education sector - where fierce cutbacks are being imposed.
We know the whole issue of pay is bound to feature strongly on our
campaigning agenda in the coming year, and the TUC and STUC will consider
co-ordinated action the defend and improve the position of our members and the
important services we deliver.
We have been winning the argument for the Living Wage and will
continue to fight to have this extended not just to directly employed public
service staff but to those working in the private and third sectors who are
contracted to provide public services.
And UNISON Scotland will
work throughout 2013 to ensure all of our
issues are better reflected in the debate on the constitution. We are more
interested to determine in who’s interest power will be exercised than where it
will lie.
Our document A Fairer Scotland outlines some of the principles on
which we will challenge the political parties and the platforms ahead of the
referendum in 2014. Some key questions we want answer to include:
PUBLIC SERVICES - What will you do to keep services public and
maintain standards?
RIGHTS AT WORK - What sort of rights should people have at work -
and what will you do to improve them?
JOBS & THE ECONOMY - What will you do to create full
employment?
EQUALITY - What will you do to make Scotland a more equal place?
These are just some of the
challenges we will take on in the coming year. If you work in the public
services, come and join us so we can face them together and win a Fairer
Scotland.
Happy New Year
Mike
Kirby, Scottish Secretary, UNISON
31
December 2012
.
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