Date: Tuesday 15 June 2010

UNISON rejects attack on Scottish public services by CBI - 'the people who brought you the recession'

Public sector union UNISON has rejected a CBI Manifesto which calls for the private sector to run Scottish public services as 'failed economics'.

UNISON Scottish Organiser Dave Watson said:
"The Scottish CBI Manifesto is a tired old agenda of failed economics from the people who brought you the recession. While it is officially titled: 'Energising the Scottish Economy' its title could easily be 'Give Us All Your Money'.

"CBI chair Linda Urquhart has the gall to say that 'Business has responded to the recession and the public sector is now having its own.' The fact is that the private sector caused the bust - and it was actually the public sector which saved the day by bailing the bankers out.

"Now they are looking for more handouts from the taxpayer even while the public sector faces huge cuts, in services, jobs and pensions."

The Scottish CBI published its 2011 Manifesto for the Scottish Parliament Election, calling for government and local services to be outsourced; an end to what the CBI calls 'the policy of no compulsory redundancies'; and the privatisation of Scottish Water.

Dave Watson said:
"This a Manifesto for costly, chaotic and poorer public services. The evidence on privatisation, outsourcing and shared services is not that they are cheaper and better run - quite the opposite.

"If there was a blanket policy of no compulsory redundancies in the public sector as the CBI suggests, no-one told us - it just doesn't exist - but it is clear from this Manifesto that the CBI wishes to see thousands more jobs lost in the public sector, at the risk of a massive further recession.

"The policy of privatising Scottish Water - a policy opposed by both SNP and Labour - would actually cost the Scottish taxpayer far more than keeping it in public hands."

ends

For Further Information Please Contact:
Dave Watson, Scottish Organiser 07958 122 409 (m)
Malcolm Burns, Communications Officer 0141 342 2877 (o) 07958 063 182 (m)
Fiona Montgomery, Communications Officer 0141 342 2877 (o) 07908 672 890 (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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