Date: Wednesday 28 July 2010

‘Three wise men’ – UNISON warns cuts and privatisation will damage the economy

UNISON today warned that tomorrow’s Independent Budget Review report is set to respond to a cuts and privatisation agenda rather than looking at what services Scotland needs and can afford.

Scottish Organiser Glyn Hawker said that the real issue is what kind of society we want - not cuts and privatisation that will damage the economy, axe thousands of jobs and cause misery for countless families.

UNISON believes that there is a realistic alternative to the predicted massive cuts in public spending which risk a double dip recession.

Glyn Hawker said:
“The real issues are what kind of services our society wants and how we pay for them. But the remit for the so-called three wise men does not allow them to look at any UK level questions of economic policy, public spending, taxation or national debt.

“This means that they are the ‘fall guys’ to provide cover for politicians to make extremely unwise cuts at a time when public spending is crucial to economic recovery.

“The current financial crisis, which was not caused by nurses or school janitors or social workers, is being used by those who want to attack the public sector.

“UNISON believes that Scotland can continue to afford to provide excellent services, delivered in the public sector. We need to look at clamping down on tax avoidance, raising taxes for those who can afford to pay more, and cutting out wasteful spending including Trident and expensive PPP/PFI projects.”

ends

Notes to Editors:

1. Glyn Hawker and other UNISON representatives will be available on Thursday for comment and reaction to the Independent Budget Review report.
2. UNISON responses to the report will be posted on our frequently updated blog at: http://unison-scotland.blogspot.com/
3. UNISON’s alternative budget for UK (July 2010) is at: www.unison.org.uk/acrobat/18887.pdf
4. UNISON Scotland submission to the Independent Budget Review (April 2010) is at: www.unison-scotland.org.uk/response/ UNISONResponse_IndependentBudgetReviewApril2010.pdf
5. Our news release ‘Removal of Scottish Water from democratic control would be unwise’ (23 July 2010) is at: www.unison-scotland.org.uk/news/2010/julyaug/2307a.htm

For Further Information Please Contact:
Fiona Montgomery, Communications Officer 0141 342 2877 (o) 07908 672 890 (m)
Malcolm Burns, Communications Officer 0141 342 2877 (o) 07958 063 182 (m)

Stay in touch with UNISON Scotland's latest news releases on our website http://www.unison-scotland.org.uk/news/index.html and frequent updates on our blog http://unison-scotland.blogspot.com/

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