PUBLIC WORKS: takes on the political fight

by Chris Bartter

In the wake of the high profile visits to the Labour and Tory Conferences by the million voices for change, Public Works has begun to take the message to the political world in Scotland.

Early in October, UNISON hosted a drop-in event at the Scottish Parliament as part of the STUC organised ‘Trade Union Week’ to ask Scottish MSPs to add their names to the million voices. 14 MSPs came along to add their support, and some of them had their picture taken doing so.

Matt Smith, who also led a discussion with MSPs on the budget the previous night, said, “Our arguments about the importance of public services to the people of Scotland and to the economy of Scotland are clearly striking a chord with politicians. We will continue to seek supporters both in Parliament and in the population in general.”

The next stage of the campaign takes it to Inverness, and the SNP conference. In addition to the stall and encouraging politicans to sign up publicly, UNISON will be holding a joint fringe with the Association for Public Sector Excellence, (APSE) on the value of public services in a recession.

Scottish Convenor Mike Kirby said, “We will be promoting the urgent need to maintain and improve public service funding. In the teeth of political and media consensus supporting cuts, UNISON will be standing up for the need for good public services - both to deliver services in a time of increasing demand, and to provide the economic stimulus needed to grow the economy out of recession.”

A similar fringe will take place at the Scottish Greens Conference in Dumfries at the end of October.

What you can do

There are many things that members can do to back up the campaign. Specifically UNISON is asking members to sign up to the Million Voices campaign - encourage your members to log onto www.unison.org.uk/million As well as that UNISONScotland is looking for stories that we can use to publicise how good our public services are.

If you or your members have experienced good service from our public services - drop Chris Bartter, Malcolm Burns or Kay Sillars a note to let them know c.bartter@unison.co.uk; m.burns@unison.co.uk; or k.sillars@unison.co.uk .

These same people are also looking for details of the job that you (or your members) do and the way that helps the public. Perhaps you help kids with learning difficulties; check that food and premise are safe and hygienic, or ensure that public facing staff can carry on with that job by doing the important background work.

Let us know and pass the message out to your members.

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