Sunday 11 October 2015

Scottish Green Party Conference

October is a busy month for political party conferences, starting this weekend in Glasgow with the Scottish Green Party. UNISON Scotland was there explaining the impact of austerity on public service workers and the services they deliver.

UNISON Scotland's new paper 'Combating Austerity' was popular with Scottish Green councillors struggling with the impact of austerity budgets.

We partnered with the Child Poverty Action Group and the Poverty Alliance for our Saturday fringe meeting on fair work and decent childhoods. UNISON Scotland Convenor, Lilian Macer explained the impact cuts to tax credits and changes to the minimum wage will have on working families in Scotland. She called for further action to reduce in-work poverty and fair employment.

Delegates voted to support a campaign of non-compliance in response to the Trade Union Bill, deeming the proposed bill as ‘an attack on workers’ rights’. Sarah Beattie-Smith, Scottish Green candidate for South of Scotland in Holyrood 2016, said:

“The Trade Union Bill is an atrocious attack on the most basic rights of workers, and the Scottish Greens will stand with unions to make sure that this legislation will have absolutely no foothold in our country."

STUC General Secretary, Graham Smith, reinforced this message in his address to conference on Sunday.

For some reason our 'squeak out' pigs were very popular on the stall. Any connection to recent political stories is purely coincidental!

 

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