Raise our sights in campaigns against ConDem attacks

Stephen Smellie

Delegates backed Stephen Smellie's call to 'raise our sights' in opposing cuts to public services, which vice-president Chris Tansley described as "devastating" and a return to "Victorian values".

This will include promoting the union's alternative budget, campaigning for in-house alternatives to privatisation, building alliances with community groups against the cuts, and ensuring that branches have the resources and information they need to defend services, jobs and terms and conditions.

Scotland's Stephen Smellie said we had to "raise our heads and raise our sights" and target our resources.

"I can campaign hard against the Tories and the Liberals in Lanarkshire but there aren't any!" he said.

"We need to understand that the Tories are strong where we are weak. When we are strong with high membership, campaigning on issues that affect our members, the Tories don't get elected.

"We need to direct resources to where we are weak to recruit, link up with community organisations and build strong campaigns", he said.

Chris Tansley told conference that the "vicious" budget cuts in councils since 2010 were "starting to bite", with savings of more than £1bn.

"Elderly care provision is being cut to the bone, libraries are being closed, social workers are unable to cope with cut backs and staff shortages, careers advisors are being starved of resources.

"Services are being privatised at levels unseen in this country."

He added that those councils with the lowest levels of budget cuts were Tory ones which had the lowest levels of deprivation, while those having the highest cuts imposed were Labour authorities with the most serious levels of deprivation and most in need of financial support.

Thousand of staff are being made redundant and many thousands of others are having misery heaped on them and their families by the pay freeze, he said.

"Meanwhile, the prime minister is organising country sports with his well-heeled neighbours, in his protective bubble of wealth and privilege. He has given up any pretence that we are in this together."

http://www.unison.org.uk/conference2012/news_view.asp?did=7907

top