Both carers and users
Women make up 52% of the population of Scotland.
As employees and service users of our public services,
they represent the majority. Under a Scottish Parliament,
the development and improvement of our public services
will benefit women in many ways. Scotland's public
services must work for women, be accountable to
them, and listen to what women have to say.
Giving women a say in their
services
Women should have an involvement in running the
services that affect them. Women are under represented
on many decision-making bodies, particularly at
higher levels.
Control of services must be devolved to the most
appropriate level, where services can be strategically
planned but also where women can have a real, practical
say.
Greater consultation
The new Parliament should support the Women in
Scotland Consultative Forum, and also use new ways
to access women's opinions.
Consultation processes should pay due regard to
accessibility, including issues such as travel,
caring responsibilities, physical access and the
provision of information in a range of formats.
Women in Scotland would benefit from community planning
across a whole range of services. Decisions on public
services that affect women should be determined
and shaped by women at a local level.
Local authorities are best placed to adopt a strategic
overview, allowing them to co-ordinate and integrate
as well as deliver the services women want, when
and where they want them.
Proportional deficit
Parliament must increase the number of women, including
young and old women, black and minority ethnic women,
disabled women, lesbian women, and women from both
rural and urban communities, participating in the
democratic processes. We should work towards at
least 50:50 representation in terms of the general
balance on all decision-making bodies including
local government, the health service and other public
bodies.
Importance of equality issues
We welcome the recommendation that the Scottish
Parliament should have an equality unit and equal
opportunities committee, with training provided
to all MSPs and officers. There should also be a
Minister with responsibility for equalities who
should be a member of the Scottish Executive.
Equality proofing is needed for all potential legislation,
and policy and statistics should be disaggregated
by gender and ethnicity. We believe the Scottish
Parliament and the bodies it is responsible for,
should draw up plans for equality of access for
all, both physically and in access to information
and policy making.
Choosing quality services
It is vital that the views of women, as the main
users of, and workers in, the public services are
taken into account when choosing quality services.
In order to provide quality services, public services
should be publicly provided and run, and not subject
to Private Finance Initiatives which will be less
accountable and prove expensive for future generations.
Family friendly policies
There is a need for fully-funded family-friendly
policies for consumers of public services, as well
as in workplaces. In particular; we want to see
widespread childcare and nursery provision together
with comprehensive policies for carers with other
dependants.
Women still accept the main responsibility for
childcare. Provision is not only in short supply,
but is often inaccessible on a financial or geographical
basis.
Pre-school provision brings significant benefits
to children. Good quality, affordable, flexible
and accessible pre-school and after-school childcare
should be a priority for the Scottish Parliament.
Health
Women in Scotland need a modern health service
that is responsive to their needs. With one of the
highest rates in Europe for breast cancer and heart
disease, a preventative and educative approach is
required, as well as a service that takes account
of their clinical needs. A strategic approach to
women 5 health will have long-term benefits.
We place a high value on one-stop clinics and integrated
services for health, local government and voluntary
sector services and welcome initiatives such as
the William Street Clinic and the Cranhill group
in Glasgow and hope these can be used as models.
Housing
Bad housing has a serious effect on women's health
and their self-esteem. Many women on low incomes
have limited, if any, choice, when it comes to affordable
and quality housing. A properly regulated house
building programme would improve the quality of
women's lives in Scotland.
Consultation with women in local communities about
the type of housing they require would go a long
way to alleviating their frustrations and improving
the quality of their lives.
Violence against women
Even after increased publicity and successive zero
tolerance campaigns, violence against women is still
unacceptably high.
The Scottish Parliament must act seriously on this
issue to ensure that the shelter; advice and support
that many women need, are made available. Leaving
it to the criminal justice system is not enough.
Other services
These are just some examples of what properly funded
public services can do to improve women's lives.
There are many other issues that need to be addressed
such as low pay, access to services and the decision
making process, and vastly improved equality initiatives
for employees and service users alike.
Choosing teamwork
Women play a major role in the provision of public
services but too often they are the forgotten members
of the team.
If the team are all employed by the organisation
providing the services, they have a real commitment
to the services they provide, be the team player
a man or a woman. This means the auxiliary as well
as the doctor; the school meals staff as well as
the teacher; the home help as well as the social
worker. From the cleaner to the chief executive.
Women still make up the majority of those in low
paid jobs and remain noticeably absent in the higher
paid professions, in all sectors of the Scottish
economy.
The public services team must be re-assembled to
provide an integrated, flexible and accountable
service with staff treated fairly and equally and
given the respect they deserve.
Continued use of private provision via the Private
Finance Initiative, arms-length trusts, market testing
and other means, is particularly damaging to women
as employees in public services. The caring, domestic
and support services that these proposals sell off
are predominantly delivered by women.
Highly trained, quality
staff
The provision of quality accessible training at
the workplace is crucial for women if the aim of
life long learning for the whole team is to mean
anything. Women need conditions that recognise the
positive contribution they make as part of a directly
employed team, rather than a variety of private
sec-tot employers with different aims, objectives
and vested interests.
Women, in both urban and rural areas, want the
Parliament to invest in flexible and integrated
education and training.
Lifelong learning for all is an important step
towards the support and back up needed to improve
women's lives. By its very nature, this must be
responsive to people's needs across the generations.
To this end, links between pre-school education,
schools, further and higher education, and community
education should be reintroduced, and be able to
be democratically controlled.
Local government - setting
standards
Local councils are major employers of women, who
comprise between 50-70% of the workforce of mos
local authorities. Local government staff, currently
debarred from standing in local elections, should
have this restriction removed. Equality issues should
be at the forefront of local authorities agendas
and should be monitored by dedicated equality departments.
Policy making, too, should be measured against high
standards of equality. The idea of a small 'cabinet'
or elected provost taking decisions and excluding
most councillors is not appropriate.
Voluntary sector recognition
Women form the majority of paid staff and volunteers
in the voluntary sector. The role of the voluntary
and related sector must be recognised as a distinctive
and significant public service provider and resourced
accordingly. Financial uncertainty and cutbacks
affect women as direct users of voluntary services,
as employees and as carets who must cover the shortfall
in provision.
Being listened to
Having their contribution valued and being listened
to Working for employers who respect their staff,
providing family friendly employment policies and
promoting equal opportunities for all, are the aims
of this minifesto for women When these principles
are adopted, we can truly say that we are;
This minifesto and a full copy of Serving Scotland,
A manifesto For Scotland's Public Services, is on
UNlSONScotland's Website at http://www.unison-scotland
org. uk.
It is also available in different languages and
formats from UNISONScotland, 14, West Campbell Street,
Glasgow G2 6RX. tel 0141-332 0006, fax 0141 342 2835, e-mail c.bartter@unison.co.uk.
Photos by Alan Wylie, ex three nurses by Douglas
Robertson, and the gardener by Murdo McLeod.
Published by UNISONScotland as part of its Serving
Scotland campaign, UNISON House, 14 West
Campbell Street, Glasgow G2 6RX. Tel 0141 332 0006.
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