Media Release
Date: 6th March 2018
Embargo: immediate Release
UNISON Fight Council Cuts, Defend Vital Services, Protect Jobs.
On Thursday the 8th of March, Elected Members at Clackmannanshire Council will vote on proposals which have the potential to decimate local services and will force the removal of staff terms and conditions, like overtime and unsocial hour rates. Council officers have explained that, as there is no agreement with trade unions, this would need to be imposed onto all staff by ending their contracts and issuing new ones on worse terms and conditions.
Andrew Kane UNISON Branch Chair said:
“Attached to this years council budget is a series of proposals to strip hard fought for terms and conditions from council staff. In order to do this councillors will have to approve the firing and rehiring of all staff in order to claw back money from the lowest paid Council workers making it harder for those at the bottom of the salary scales to make ends meet and which will have a serious impact on their pensions. These aren’t senior officers who will leave the organisation with early pensions costing the organisation hundreds of thousands of pounds. No, they’re the people who, alone amongst all council staff in Scotland, volunteered to cut their own pay in order to help the organisation just a few short years ago.”
Pam Robertson UNISON Branch Secretary said:
“Last Friday afternoon Keith Brown congratulated new SNP Councillor Helen Lewis on her victory by saying that the good folk of Clacks North want something better than Tories. Well so do trade unions. Any councillor who thinks that they can fire their entire work force in order to sneakily cut the wage bill should have a long hard look in the mirror to work out just which political party they belong to. I’d remind our SNP administration that those most affected by these proposed cuts are the very people we relied upon just last week to clear and grit roads and who walked through heavy snow to look after the sick and elderly. Decimating what remains of the goodwill of council staff will have consequences for service users and none of us want to see that.”
Notes
UNISON is the largest trade union in Clackmannanshire Council
UNISON has been campaigning against cuts in Clackmannanshire for many years. We have also been calling on the Scottish Government to intervene.
UNISON Contacts
Pam Robertson, Clackmannanshire Branch Secretary: 01259 722282 / 07971 851 465,