Invest in Scotland: Invest in Scotland’s Workers
The Scottish Trades Union Congress (STUC) have called on the Finance Secretary to “invest in Scotland” as the Scottish Government looks set to unveil their Budget for 2025/26.
Ahead of the Budget, the STUC has called upon Shona Robison to deliver a “budget for communities” by scrapping the council tax, increasing pay for social care workers, improving public transport and keeping the promise to Scotland’s school pupils on free school meals.
Evidence cited by the STUC shows local authorities in Scotland are facing a £780 million funding black hole due to successive council tax freezes. The union body are further calling for the Small Business Bonus Scheme to be scrapped with the Scottish Government making business support conditional on organisations adhering to Fair Work practices. Despite Scottish Government commissioned research showing no evidence the policy delivers positive economic outcomes, more than £3 billion has been squandered on the scheme since it was introduced in 2008.
Free school meals rollback ‘unforgivable'
Reacting to confirmation at First Minister’s Questions that the Scottish Government has broken its commitment to provide universal free school meals, STUC General Secretary Roz Foyer:
“This is unforgivable. This was a promise to the starving schoolchildren of Scotland that their government would protect and care for them in their hour of need. To let those pupils down is a sickening reflection of this government’s inability to stick to their word.
“Delay after delay. False promise after false promise. This policy spoke to the values of our nation. It had the full support of our movement and support from across wider civic Scotland. It’s utterly incompatible therefore that the First Minister claims tackling child poverty is his number one priority yet reneges on this promise which would help achieve just that.
“This must be reversed. Every day a child in Scotland suffers avoidable hunger is a failure of our state. The trade union movement across Scotland is still willing to assist but if our politicians think child hunger is a price worth paying in the pursuit of this government’s renewed pro-business, pro-entrepreneurial economic approach, then we face an uphill battle.
Commenting, STUC Women’s Committee Chair Lorna Glen said:
“Breaking promises to hungry school children is a damning indictment of the character of the Scottish Government.
“This was their chance to stick to their word; to ensure every child, no matter their background, was afforded an equal chance to learn free from hunger. It’s clear that government ministers think, despite the First Minister’s laudable ambition to eradicate it, child poverty is a price worth paying when the going is financially tough.
“It simply didn’t have to be this way. We know finances are tight but that’s what happens when you become economically illiterate and freeze council tax or pledge to eradicate child poverty but don’t fund that pledge properly. Our movement believes that feeding the starving pupils of our nation is a price worth paying. The government once thought so too.
STUC Statement on Programme for Government
Commenting on the Scottish Government’s Programme for Government, STUC General Secretary Roz Foyer said:
Abandoned and alone: workers ‘left to rot’ during pandemic.
Scotland’s health and social care workers were ‘left to rot’ according to Scotland’s leading trade union body as the STUC General Secretary Roz Foyer is set to give evidence in front of the Scottish COVID Inquiry today.
Appearing before the Scottish Inquiry for the first time, alongside Deputy General Secretary Dave Moxham, the STUC will set out how workers were “abandoned” by government with many making the “ultimate sacrifice”. The trade union body will further call on the Scottish Government to classify long-covid as an industrial disease, recognising workers’ sacrifice during the pandemic and to properly reward them with specific welfare benefits now devolved to the Scottish Parliament.
Research from the Equality and Human Rights Commission cited by the STUC during the Inquiry suggests that a disproportionately high number of those who died from COVID were engaged in the care sector as compared to the average for all occupations.
RSSGeneral Secretary’s newspaper columns
We should all be concerned at the state of our universities The Herald, 3rd February
My parents deaths showed me how vital social care is The Herald, 27th January
US is wrong to claim it has brokered peace in Middle east The Herald, 20th January
James Watt is spouting nonsense about work life balance The Herald, 13th January
Scotland’s policy of higher tax for the wealthy hasn’t hurt wage rises The Herald, 6th January
Scots are losing their jobs as the Just Transition goes backwards The Herald, 30th December
Here’s how we can drive down the cost of Christmas for everyone The Herald, 23rd December
Free bus passes are a lifeline not a luxury The Herald, 16th December
Scottish budget dodged critical decisions The Herald, 9th December
Scotland’s Budget must deliver for workers The Herald, 2nd December
Save Grangemouth project is vital to turn tide on 50 years of failure The Herald, 25th November
Trump is back and the far right is too The Herald, 18 November
We cannot sit back and allow Palestine to die, says STUC chief The Herald, 11 November
Unpicking what the Budget means for workers The Herald, 4th November
John Swinney was right - and Labour must listen, says STUC chief The Herald, 28th October
So many broken promises: why we’ve walked away from care service bill The Herald, 22nd October
We can’t always get what we want. But we can try hard to do so The Herald, 14th October
Good news on tips for workers The Herald, 7th October
Sir Keir needs to invest - not force through endless cuts The Herald, 30th September
We must remember the lessons of the Auchengeich disaster The Herald, 23rd September
Global corporations are destroying Scottish jobs - we must stop them The Herald, 16th September
Want to let Glasgow flourish? Help its children The Herald, 9th September
Scotland’s culture cannot be for rich people only The Herald, 26th August
The deeper issues that both our governments need to address The Herald, 19th August
Far-right hate mob exploited tragedy for their own ends The Herald, 12th August
Public services denigration and nefarious far-right risks The Herald, 5th August
Workers could do with a retirement like Joe Biden will have The Herald, 19th July
Pomp. Pageantry. Performance. Politics. The Herald, 22nd July
The kids are alright and we should listen to them The Herald, 15th July
Labour must tear up anti-union legislation, says STUC chief The Herald, 8th July
Politicans should hedge their bets on the workers The Herald, 1st July
Grangemouth is first test of Labour’s commitment to a just transition The Herald, 24th June
Politicians talk the talk but they don’t walk the walk over education The Herald, 17th June
Media must step up to the plate amid the rise of the far right The National, 15th June
Green Industrial Strategy could create tens of thousands of jobs The Herald, 27th May
Failure to devolve power casts a shadow over Holyrood The Herald, 20th May
Trade unions will work with FM to help end policy failure The National, 18th May
Workers have had enough of nice ideas from the SNP The Herald, 13th May
Scottish and UK governments must not let Grangemouth refinery die The Herald, 6th May
I predict new era of cooperation between Labour and SNP The Herald, 22nd April
Scotland’s support for Palestinians IS making a difference The National, 20th April
Strike action works and we make no apologies for it The Herald, 15th April
Sunak’s Freeports are called Greenports here but there’s no difference The Herald, 8th April
Mandelson has pushed Labour to ‘soften’ New Deal for Working People The Herald, 1st April
Miners’ strike taught us justice is not achieved through asking nicely The Herald, 18th March
Anas Sarwar’s Scottish Labour plans tax cuts for middle earners The Herald, 26th February
Highland workers need action, not more rhetoric The Herald, 2nd February
Grangemouth Refinery closure must be halted The Herald, 24th November
King’s Speech proved how badly we need an election The National 15th November
We march against fascism. Would Braverman want to ban us too? Herald 14th November
We should be furious that workers were thrown to wolves during Covid The National 27th October
SNP Can’t blame Labour deluge on the weather The National 14th October
Why we must fight for the future of further education Herald 13th October
The attack on Unison’s Johanna Baxter is nonsense - here’s why The National 29th September
Labour must commit to the devolution of employment law Herald 29th September
Why we must have a wholesale revolution on social care Herald 12th September
Roz Foyer: First Minister says he ‘isn’t afraid to pick a side’ – so do it The National 9th September
It’s time to pay women fairly. Let the bosses pay the bill The National 1st September
Politicians beware: the people are not prepared to lie down any longer Herald 18th August
Strikes in Scotland seem endless? Well the workers are fed up too The National 12th August
It’s time we took back control of our buses The National 4th August
Two-child benefit cap: Dismay over lack of vision from Labour Herald 21st July
When it comes to care, we must put people before profit Herald 12th July 2023
What can we say about Humza Yousaf’s record after 100 days in the job? The National 8th July 2023
Profiteering is driving up costs and they want you to take the blame. Herald 5th July 2023
We have a real chance to deliver fairness for workers. Let’s take it. Herald 10th June 2023
Never forget Pride is a protest as well as a celebration The National 10th June 2023
The Yes campaign may have stalled but people still want change Herald 6th June 2023
Forget the coronation, profit is king in the UK The National 13th May 2023
The First Minister must stay firm on free school meals Herald 8th May 2023
What are the politicians going to do to rescue our democracy? Herald 13th April 2023
First Minister Humza Yousaf must work with trade unions to succeed The National 8th April 2023
Next first minister must show same respect to unions The National 21st March
Government has turbocharged our resolve on workers’ rights The National 31st January
