A short briefing of media coverage of our manifesto launch. UNISON is calling on all Scottish parties and candidates to put focus on public services.
We question the wisdom of cutting 20,000 public service jobs, and suggest that you can not do this without damaging services.
UNISON Scottish secretary Lilian Macer warns in the Sunday Herald that Scottish government plans to cut between 11,000 and 20,000 jobs from public services were ‘dangerous’ and ‘unworkable’.
The Scotsman ran an exclusive interview with UNISON Scotland’s head of health Matt McLaughlin on its front page on Tuesday (14 April) with further coverage inside. He said Scottish politicians had “failed to be brave” regarding the health service, which needed a “fundamental reboot.” Matt also emphasised the urgency for the next Holyrood government to make significant changes to the NHS.
We are asking voters in Scotland not to sleep walk into public services cuts, and to reject cliches and soundbites. We ask voters to think carefully about about public services and who they vote for. What level of public services do we want, how much are we will to pay for them and crucially who pays?
Not all politicians are the same. Voting matters. Make this a public services election.