Click here for a pdf of this briefing

Stop the Cuts Briefing # 2
Feb 2010

UNISON has agreed to organise a march and rally in Glasgow on 10 April to demonstrate to our politicians the level of opposition to the cuts.

(Check the UNISON Scotland blog for updates)

We need you to be there and to encourage turn outs from:
- Your members and their families– get the best turn out possible. UNISON will be arranging events for the kids, so bring them along too!
- Any user or community groups who you are working with to fight cuts in your authority.

Bring your Branch Banners and Placards – make it clear UNISON is leading this campaign.

Member’s leaflets will be available for downloading soon, along with postcards to use in local campaigning. A toolkit, with advice and information on campaigning and political lobbying is on www.unison-scotland.org.uk/publicworks/stopthecutstoolkit.html

Get the up-to-date info on Budget Cuts:
£466m, 4500 jobs - and counting...
A new briefing #222 Budget Cuts is on the briefings page on this website, http://www.unison-scotland.org.uk/briefings giving the real facts and figures about the cuts across Scotland. This has been compiled from your Cuts Impact Assessment returns (for which, thank you), and is the most comprehensive survey since this budget.

Even so it is not yet fully comprehensive. Most information is in the area of local government while other service sectors are less well covered—but information on health, higher education, police, NDPBs, and the voluntary sector etc, is beginning to add to the figures.

Importantly information on the impact of recession on our comrades in the private service sector is also coming in, and this shows similar job loss and cuts as in the public sector. When these are included we are looking at a total cut of £466.3m with at least 4,504 jobs going. These figures will no doubt increase.

…and keep it up-to-date.
We need you and your Regional Organiser to keep your Cuts Impact Assessments up to date, and returned to Fiona Montgomery – f.montgomery@unison.co.uk. We need this information to keep us informed on how cuts affect jobs and services. The form is designed to be updated and new information will be sought soon.

Feb 6 - Dave Prentis launches the campaign
UNISON’s General Secretary, Dave Prentis, has launched our major Public Works campaign, fighting back against cuts in public services.

(See also press release and video on our blog)

Speaking at the rally in Glasgow Royal Concert Hall on Feb 6, he attacked all political parties’ ‘Macho Politics’ and announced that the union’s research has uncovered cuts of £300m across Scottish local government with a planned job loss of over 3,000.

“No school cleaner gambled billions on the stock exchange,” he said. “None of our members created this recession. Why should they have to pay for it?”

Dave also pointed to the danger of cuts plunging the economy back into recession as public spending is the only engine of growth we have. “Spending on public services makes sense if you are trying to grow the economy,” he said. “For every pound spent on public services, 64p goes back into the local economy.”

Dave made it clear that all the major parties were to blame in a rush to the bottom, but reserved particular criticism for David Cameron’s Tories who, he said, hadn’t changed.

“They are calling for savage cuts - using the crisis to dismantle the welfare state. 20% cut in public expenditure over two years, but tax cuts for the rich … a world of haves and have nots.”

He also urged Gordon Brown to learn from President Barack Obama’s decision to stand up to American bankers.

“Lets hear more about pay freezes for bankers,” he said. “Let's hear Gordon calling for every last dime to be paid back to the taxpayer.”