All the union news that's fit to blog...
Date: Wednesday 10 February 2016
Talks between Falkirk Council and Joint Trade Unions broke down today (9 February) after trade unions could not accept the new package of terms and conditions being proposed by Falkirk Council.
Talks broke down after the Joint Trade Union informed Falkirk Council that following a ballot they felt they could not agree the package put forward.
Falkirk CouncilRead more…
Yesterday the IFS set out a bleaker view for the economy and public finances in its Green Budget, which is published every year in the run-up to the Chancellor’s Budget Statement. Given the gloomy projections, let’s hope the government takes note, especially with regard to the fiscal mandate….Read more…
Date: Saturday 6 February 2016
On National Libraries Day (6 February 2016), UNISON is warning that more local government cuts will have a drastic impact on libraries across Scotland, decreasing opportunities for all, and increasing poverty and inequality.
Library services have been undergoing massive change, yet staff numbers have been going down, buildings are closing, opening hours areRead more…
Date: Tuesday 2 February 2016
UNISON Scotland is calling for the Scottish Parliament to use its powers to put more money into local services. By 2020 expenditure on public services will be 12.5% lower in real terms. That is on top of the £2.5bn cuts since 2010.
This next round of cuts will mean at least another 15,000 job cuts for local councils. Of the 50,000 jobs that have been lost inRead more…
Wed 27 Jan 2016
Public services union UNISON has today (Wed 27 January 2016) urged the Scottish Government to push ahead with proposed new financial powers for Scottish councils to relax the rules for borrowing, lending and the repayment of loans. These proposed changes to Scottish councils’ financial powers should now be used for greater flexibility to deal with the funding crisis in ScottishRead more…
Last summer, chancellor George Osborne pledged that his government would create a “higher wage, lower tax, lower welfare” country; that the vaunted ‘Northern Powerhouse’ would, over the next few…Read more…
Next meeting: Tuesday 2 February at 7.30, Craft Beer Company
Also this SaturdayUnprecedented cuts to local council funding by the government is meaning vital services are under severe threat. Across…Read more…
Saving less than a million pounds a week whilst making it harder to recruit more nurses, plans to cut the NHS bursary must be one of the most foolish, petty and self-defeating cuts to come from this…Read more…
For years the government has been slashing at the NHS, cutting and privatising to boost the profits of the private health vultures (many of whom have unsavoury links to MPs and other decision makers).
Now Cameron and Hunt have decided to take on both …Read more…
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 FirstRead more…
Date: Monday 21 December 2015UNISON Scotland has called on councils and Scottish Government to do more to protect school librarians. UNISON says the evidence is that local councils are seeing school library services as a soft target to meet budget cuts and are cutting school library services across Scotland. UNISON has made a submission in support of School Libraries Petition PE 1581 to theRead more…
Date: Wednesday 16 December 2015
Mike Kirby, UNISON Scottish Regional Secretary said,
‘UNISON Scotland recognises that Tory austerity limits the options available in the Spending Review. However, it is unacceptable that yet again local government is bearing the brunt of cuts. We are now in the 8th year of the council tax freeze that limits how councils can choose to respond to austerity. ThisRead more…
After months of criticism from all sides, Chancellor George Osborne finally caved in on tax credits in his autumn statement last week, pledging to reverse cuts that would see Britain’s poorest…Read more…
Cuts over the last few years mean that community policy in Suffolk is in danger, warns UNISON, launching campaign to defend the service
The article UNISON warns of risk to community policing as cuts…Read more…
UNISON is calling on DCC Neil Richardson to meet with them to discuss his plans for further job cuts after his words at the Justice Committee of 1st December, wherein he stated it would be wrong of him to say there won’t be further reduction in staff.
George McIrvine, UNISON Police Staff Scotland branch secretary said: ”They have no real strategy as to how they are going to achieve this yearsRead more…
The People’s Assembly Scotland is calling for a widespread campaign to back councillors who abandon ‘austerity denial’, urging them to show ‘political leadership’ in defending local services from Scottish and UK government cuts.
The campaign group, to which UNISON Scotland is affiliated, has issued a pack for unions and community groups with a statement of principles, advice on street stallsRead more…
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 ofRead more…
25 Nov 2015
UNISON Scotland e-briefing on Autum Attement online now…
http://www.unison-scotland.org.uk/briefings/e-briefing_UKAutumnStatement_Nov2015.pdf
"The UK highlights include the abandonment of the savage Tax Credit cuts, following the government’s defeat
in the House of Lords. Higher tax receipts and lower borrowing costs helped meet this cost. However, from
2018 claimants will switchRead more…
Open University council approves plan to close seven regional offices and put 500 staff at risk
The article Members ‘disappointed and frustrated’ at OU closures decision first appeared…Read more…
More questions than answers arose yesterday (November 24), after the government announced the publication of its Strategic Defence Review, which outlined defence spending priorities for the next five…Read more…