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A repository for reports, opinions and bits of writing on labour, trade union and other issues by a union activist and retired social worker.

Saturday 26 September 2015

Job lost is service lost to Edinburgh's citizens


First published in the Evening News 21/9/15
: It would be a shame to be in conflict with the Edinburgh councillors who spoke out passionately last week against the government’s vindictive attack on individual freedoms and trade union rights.

But conflict looks inevitable as thousands of staff face losing their livelihoods with all that means for their families. As a union we have one key power to defend them – the strength of people standing together. If it comes to compulsory redundancies, we will urge our members to use that strength.

The council’s Labour/SNP coalition has to decide whether it stands by its pledges against compulsory redundancies and privatisation. We are not sure all their officials get those pledges otherwise redundancy and privatisation might not be on the agenda. We detect a culture that all too often imposes failed private sector solutions on public sector functions, making service delivery worse. Ask anyone who has had to phone some council services recently.