UNISON Scotland Press Statement
Embargo: For immediate Release
Date: Mon 8 September 2008
SFT is a costly and unnecessary new quango with staff on six figure salaries
UNISON Scotland will tomorrow warn MSPs that the Scottish Futures Trust (SFT) will be an unnecessary and costly new quango, promoting PFI/PPP policies and employing staff on six figure salaries.
Scottish Organiser Dave Watson will tell the Scottish Parliament’s Finance Committee that the SFT proposal has been turned from a simple idea (for Scottish Government Bonds) into a complex one, losing the original purpose and instead pursuing largely the same PFI/PPP policies.
Giving evidence to the Committee’s ongoing inquiry into the funding of public capital investment projects, he will point out that the SFT’s continuation of the hub PPP initiative is a Trojan horse for introducing parts of the English public sector model here.
Dave will say “Ministers are establishing a new quango with most of its important work barely sketched out in this Strategic Business Case. “It has allocated initial payroll costs of £1 million for six or seven staff. “UNISON research (click here) has shown that PFI/PPP is wasting billions of pounds of taxpayers money. The SFT originally was supposed to tackle this waste but the current plans simply set up a new quango to deliver more of the same.”
ENDS
For Further Information Please Contact: Dave Watson (Scottish organiser - Policy) 07958 122 409 (m) Fiona Montgomery/Malcolm Burns (Information Development Officers) 0141 342 2852/2811
Notes for editors
Dave Watson will give evidence to the Committee at 2pm on Tuesday 9 Sept. He is taking part in a round table discussion involving several witnesses. UNISON's summary evidence to the Finance Committee for the 9 Sept meeting is available from Fiona Montgomery on Tues am (0141 342 2852 or at f.montgomery@unison.co.uk ) It is also now (Mon 9 Sep) on the Cttee website at: http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/s3/committees/finance/papers-08/fip08-19.pdf
UNISON also provided evidence to the Finance Committee in May. This is at: http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/s3/committees/finance/papers-08/fip08-13.pdf
The main evidence submitted in Dec 2007 to the Finance Committee's Inquiry is at: http://www.unison-scotland.org.uk/response/capitalinvest.html
UNISON's submission to the Scottish Government consultation on the Scottish Futures Trust is at: http://www.unison-scotland.org.uk/response/sftresponsemarch08.html
* 'At What Cost' is on the UNISON Scotland website at: http://www.unison-scotland.org.uk/comms/atwhatcostoct07.pdf
Monday, September 8, 2008
Friday, September 5, 2008
The Herald: Union sets date for new strike by public sector staff
The Herald Sat 6 Sep
"Scotland will face another day of disruption later this month following yesterday's confirmation by Unison members that they will strike on September 24.
Union chiefs felt they had "no alternative" but to take further strike action as part of a dispute over council workers' pay...
A Unison local government conference in Glasgow yesterday agreed to stage the further one-day stoppage.
The union is also planning selective action involving groups of council workers from the start of October, with the possibility of these lasting up to a week."
More...
See also UNISON press statement UNISON Scotland set to step up strike action as councils fail to improve pay offer
"Scotland will face another day of disruption later this month following yesterday's confirmation by Unison members that they will strike on September 24.
Union chiefs felt they had "no alternative" but to take further strike action as part of a dispute over council workers' pay...
A Unison local government conference in Glasgow yesterday agreed to stage the further one-day stoppage.
The union is also planning selective action involving groups of council workers from the start of October, with the possibility of these lasting up to a week."
More...
See also UNISON press statement UNISON Scotland set to step up strike action as councils fail to improve pay offer
BBC News: Council union in one-day strike
 Unions took strike action last month |
A local government union has called another one-day strike across Scotland in pursuit of its pay claim.
About 100,000 Unison members will walk out on Wednesday 24 September.
The action could be followed by a programme of disruption involving groups of council workers being brought out for up to a week at a time.
Last month 150,000 members of Unison, Unite and the GMB took one-day strike action. The other unions are yet to decide if they will walk out again.
The unions said an offer of a 2.5% pay rise was, in effect, a pay cut.
Talks between local government body Cosla and the three unions broke down earlier this week.
More...
UNISON Scotland set to step up strike action as councils fail to improve pay offer
UNISON Scotland Press Statement
Embargo: For immediate Release
Date: Fri 5 September 2008
UNISON Scotland set to step up strike action as councils fail to improve pay offer
Scotland’s largest council union, UNISON, is stepping up strike action following the failure of local government employers to come up with an improved offer in the current pay dispute.
UNISON Scotland members this afternoon overwhelmingly agreed to a programme of further industrial action over pay at the union’s Local Goverment Conference which took place in Glasgow today (Friday).
Speaking after the conference Stephanie Herd, Chairperson of the UNISON Scotland Local Government Committee said: "This decision today clearly shows the anger our members feel at the employers’ failure to improve their offer, and also the determination of our members to win a fair and just pay settlement. I am confident that the other two trade unions, GMB and Unite will also feel just as strongly.”
Dougie Black, UNISON Scotland Regional Officer and Secretary to the joint trade union negotiating team said: "Today's conference sends a very clear message to the employers. Your failure to improve your offer despite previous commitments given in public to do so will not be tolerated by our members. Taking further industrial action is regrettable, but now unavoidable. We have no alternative given the employers’ behaviour over this.”
Embargo: For immediate Release
Date: Fri 5 September 2008
UNISON Scotland set to step up strike action as councils fail to improve pay offer
Scotland’s largest council union, UNISON, is stepping up strike action following the failure of local government employers to come up with an improved offer in the current pay dispute.
UNISON Scotland members this afternoon overwhelmingly agreed to a programme of further industrial action over pay at the union’s Local Goverment Conference which took place in Glasgow today (Friday).
Speaking after the conference Stephanie Herd, Chairperson of the UNISON Scotland Local Government Committee said: "This decision today clearly shows the anger our members feel at the employers’ failure to improve their offer, and also the determination of our members to win a fair and just pay settlement. I am confident that the other two trade unions, GMB and Unite will also feel just as strongly.”
Dougie Black, UNISON Scotland Regional Officer and Secretary to the joint trade union negotiating team said: "Today's conference sends a very clear message to the employers. Your failure to improve your offer despite previous commitments given in public to do so will not be tolerated by our members. Taking further industrial action is regrettable, but now unavoidable. We have no alternative given the employers’ behaviour over this.”
In the mood for striking...
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
UNISON angry at failure to tackle car parking charges
UNISON Scotland Press Statement
Embargo: For immediate Release
Date: Tue 2 September 2008
UNISON angry at failure to tackle car parking charges
NHS union UNISON has today welcomed the decision to remove Car Parking Charges from most NHS sites in Scotland, but is angry that the Ministerial announcement seems to fail to remove Car Parking Charges completely after it was decided that it was too expensive to remove charges on PFI/PPP sites.
UNISON Glasgow and Clyde Branch Secretary, Cathy Miller said:
“Obviously we are pleased that the Government has decided to give way to pressure from UNISON and the public. No one agreed with this additional tax on staff, patients and visitors. But we are angry that the Minister seems unwilling to be bold enough to remove charges from PPP/PFI sites. This decision will create a two tier system with staff and patients who are unlucky enough to be on a PFI site such as Glasgow Royal Infirmary being charged for the pleasure.”
UNISON has continued to campaign on Car Parking Charges in the NHS and is now demanding a meeting with NHS bosses to find out what can be done about charges at Glasgow Royal Infirmary.
Cathy added:
“If car parking charges are to remain on site at GRI, then staff will see it as a real kick in the teeth. We want to meet with the NHS employers immediately to find out what they are going to do to help staff and patients. If they can’t or wont do anything we’ll take the matter up again with Government.”
Embargo: For immediate Release
Date: Tue 2 September 2008
UNISON angry at failure to tackle car parking charges
NHS union UNISON has today welcomed the decision to remove Car Parking Charges from most NHS sites in Scotland, but is angry that the Ministerial announcement seems to fail to remove Car Parking Charges completely after it was decided that it was too expensive to remove charges on PFI/PPP sites.
UNISON Glasgow and Clyde Branch Secretary, Cathy Miller said:
“Obviously we are pleased that the Government has decided to give way to pressure from UNISON and the public. No one agreed with this additional tax on staff, patients and visitors. But we are angry that the Minister seems unwilling to be bold enough to remove charges from PPP/PFI sites. This decision will create a two tier system with staff and patients who are unlucky enough to be on a PFI site such as Glasgow Royal Infirmary being charged for the pleasure.”
UNISON has continued to campaign on Car Parking Charges in the NHS and is now demanding a meeting with NHS bosses to find out what can be done about charges at Glasgow Royal Infirmary.
Cathy added:
“If car parking charges are to remain on site at GRI, then staff will see it as a real kick in the teeth. We want to meet with the NHS employers immediately to find out what they are going to do to help staff and patients. If they can’t or wont do anything we’ll take the matter up again with Government.”
Monday, September 1, 2008
Further action "inevitable" over council pay following CoSLA failure to improve offer
UNISON Scotland Press Statement
Embargo: For immediate Release
Date: Mon 1 September 2008
Further action "inevitable" over council pay following CoSLA failure to improve offer
UNISON, the largest union representing over 100,000 council staff in Scotland has reacted with "bitter disappointment" at the failure of the local government employers body CoSLA to improve the rejected pay offer which led to strike action last month. "Further action is now inevitable," said Stephanie Herd, Chairperson of UNISON’s Local Government Service Group.
UNISON along with the other trade unions involved in the pay dispute, Unite and GMB, met with the employers (COSLA) today (Monday 1 September) to continue talks on this years pay settlement. Regrettably the meeting broke up with no new offer being made. The only concession being made by the employers is to make their offer of 2.5% effective for one year instead of the three previously offered.
Dougie Black, UNISON Regional Officer and Secretary to the Trade Union Negotiators said: "Whilst we are pleased that our day of action forced the employer back to the negotiating table and they retracted the three year element of their final offer, we are bitterly disappointed and angry that the value of the offer has not been improved. The employers publicly stated that they required to look at a settlement that took account of the rises in inflation and to subsequently make no new offer is disingenuous on their part."
Stephanie Herd, Chairperson of UNISON’s Local Government Service Group said:
"Our members will be extremely angry at the way their employers are treating them. Many of our members are amongst the lowest paid in the public sector and to give indications that the offer would be improved and then subsequently not will simply strengthen their resolve in pursuing a better offer. Further action is now inevitable and we will be talking to our fellow trade unions to pursue this."
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