STV: 20,000 take part in Edinburgh cuts protest

23 October 2010 12:39 GMT

 
More than 20,000 people took to the streets of Edinburgh in a demonstration against cuts to public services.

The march and rally took in unions, political groups and concerned members of the public in a show of unity against the UK Government's spending review.

Organised by the Scottish Trades Union Congress, it aimed to highlight fears about the impact of Chancellor George Osborne's savings package.

Huge cuts amounting to about £81billion across the UK were unveiled on Wednesday - and Scotland is expected to lose about £3 billion over the next four years.

The colourful procession gathered outside City of Edinburgh Council headquarters and stretched at its peak along the entire route to Princes Street Gardens, exceeding organisers' expectations.


Full story at STV website

More UNISON pics and story to follow here on this blog and on UNISON Scotland website.  

Thanks for making CVS lobby of Parliament a success

From: Macfarlane, Simon
Sent: 19 March 2009 12:20
Subject: CVS Lobby of Scottish Parliament and presentation to Petitions Committee - 17th March 2009

Hello

Thanks to all who took part in our activities on Tuesday at the Scottish Parliament and to all who signed the petition and helped with our campaign. The day was a huge success with us getting our message over to many MSPs, we were given the longest slot in front of the Petitions Committee under the current Convenor and we attracted widespread publicity for the issues around fair funding for the voluntary sector and the attacks on our members jobs and conditions.

I attach a number of links below, a couple of which have video clips of our mock funeral, including a link to watch the whole presentation to the Committee should you so wish.

The Convenor said 10 years in to devolution "the next big project, one of them, has to be what we do about this constant anomaly of the voluntary sector". The Committee has agreed to write to a number of bodies including the Scottish Government and will decide in May how to progress it further.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/edinburgh_and_east/7947039.stm

http://www.theherald.co.uk/news/other/display.var.2496164.0.Care_workers_stage_mock_funeral_in_protest_at_wage_cuts.php video clip

http://deadlinescotland.wordpress.com/2009/03/17/trade-unions-stage-dramatic-mock-funeral-outside-scottish-parliament-738/ video clip

http://news.scotsman.com/uk/Protest-mourns-loss-of-jobs.5081361.jp

http://news.stv.tv/home/82806-unions-stage-mock-funeral-outside-scottish-parliament/

http://www.teletext.co.uk/regionalnews/centscotborders/730fdd4429ebad701b6d4d582b324745/Workers+stage+mock+funeral.aspx

http://www.morningstaronline.co.uk/index.php/news/britain/activists_mourn_job_losses_in_mock_funeral_procession

Finally you can watch the whole presentation to the Committee via this website:
http://www.holyrood.tv/library.asp?iPid=3&section=43&title=Public+Petitions

Many thanks again and I look forward to working with you to continue to take forward our campaign.

Simon

.

STV coverage of social worker role was excellent

Colleagues may have already seen tonights STV news where SWIG colleagues were interviewed following the Brandon Muir murder trial.

You can find the news piece here and follow other links to interviews
http://news.stv.tv/home/80041-man-found-guilty-of-culpable-homicide-of-dundee-toddler/

A further interview was done by ITN and will be broadcast on tonights 10pm news, we are advised.

http://www.itv.com/News/Ten/default.html

The STV coverage was excellent and we are hopeful that ITN will be as balanced in terms of the role of the social worker.

Regards,
Mandy McDowall
Regional Organiser, UNISON

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STV video: Scottish Water workers in pay row walkout

STV Standard News Player

The organisation says plans are in place to cope with the strike

Several hundred workers with Scottish Water are taking part in a 24-hour walk-out in a dispute over pay.

Union leaders say the industrial action, which started at noon on Thursday, will affect Scottish Water operations across the country.

Employees are protesting a pay increase which they claim is unfair.

Dougie Black, a negotiator with Unison, said: "Clearly it is an issue which our members feel very strongly about.

"I would invite Scottish Water and the Scottish Government, even at this late stage, to come back to the negotiating table.

"We are always ready to talk about a way to settle this dispute."

More at www.stv.tv...

Aberdeen: Scottish Water picketed from noon

UNISON Scotland Local Organiser Jane Fielding reports that the Aberdeen picket line at Kingshill House was on from 12 noon - 2pm. The pickets included Scottish Water Branch Chair Dave Wilkinson and Regional Organiser Sarah Duncan. 

The vast majority of UNISON members in Scottish Water Aberdeen left work at 12 noon to join the strike. STV Aberdeen did an interview with Dave Wilkinson (which will hopefully be shown tonight) and the TV cameras were also going to the Shipping Water Office which is being covered by the GMB.

The Scottish Water unions in the North East are working together in the fight for fair pay.  

The picket line will be back on again tomorrow (Friday 28 November) from 9am.