Sunday Herald - Letters
Here's an interesting letter that appeared in the Sunday Herald at the weekend.
The author clearly believes that trade union hierarchies do not accurately reflect or represent the views of ordinary members - because of their obvious bias towards the Labour party.
Speaking as someone who does not carry a torch for any political party - I think it's fair to say that Mr Falconer from Galashiels - makes a valid point.
Trade unions should transcend party politics - but in reality the new 'super unions' reflect the tired old politics of the union establishment - not the politics of ordinary grassroots members.
"Right unions are all wrong"
"It should have been a bizarre experience reading Dave Watson of Unison’s opinion piece in the Sunday Herald’s Business Comment arguing in favour of the Tory council tax and against its replacement by a local income tax – a form of taxation universally regarded as the fairest and most progressive method of raising Government finance.
There was a time when I believed that unions stood for the interests of their members and workers generally. Now we see organisations like Unison funding and openly campaigning for a party which enthusiastically supports not only Tory taxes, but also obscenely expensive nuclear weapons, privatisation of public services, and the disastrous PFI/PPP finance initiative, the payments for which are costing public bodies in this country many millions of pounds each year. How many public services and public sector jobs could this have funded?
It should have been bizarre, but it was not. We have grown used to the “super-unions”, such as Unite and Unison, using the resources of their members to campaign against and undermine the current SNP government – which in health, housing, education, environmental policy and public finance is certainly the most progressive Government we have had here since 1945, and in its anti-nuclear defence policy much more so.
Are Watson’s members happy with this use of their money to shift Scottish governance to the right? I cannot believe that, after a moment or two’s reflection, they can be. If I am wrong then the world truly has turned upside down.
Eric Falconer
Galashiels"
The author clearly believes that trade union hierarchies do not accurately reflect or represent the views of ordinary members - because of their obvious bias towards the Labour party.
Speaking as someone who does not carry a torch for any political party - I think it's fair to say that Mr Falconer from Galashiels - makes a valid point.
Trade unions should transcend party politics - but in reality the new 'super unions' reflect the tired old politics of the union establishment - not the politics of ordinary grassroots members.
"Right unions are all wrong"
"It should have been a bizarre experience reading Dave Watson of Unison’s opinion piece in the Sunday Herald’s Business Comment arguing in favour of the Tory council tax and against its replacement by a local income tax – a form of taxation universally regarded as the fairest and most progressive method of raising Government finance.
There was a time when I believed that unions stood for the interests of their members and workers generally. Now we see organisations like Unison funding and openly campaigning for a party which enthusiastically supports not only Tory taxes, but also obscenely expensive nuclear weapons, privatisation of public services, and the disastrous PFI/PPP finance initiative, the payments for which are costing public bodies in this country many millions of pounds each year. How many public services and public sector jobs could this have funded?
It should have been bizarre, but it was not. We have grown used to the “super-unions”, such as Unite and Unison, using the resources of their members to campaign against and undermine the current SNP government – which in health, housing, education, environmental policy and public finance is certainly the most progressive Government we have had here since 1945, and in its anti-nuclear defence policy much more so.
Are Watson’s members happy with this use of their money to shift Scottish governance to the right? I cannot believe that, after a moment or two’s reflection, they can be. If I am wrong then the world truly has turned upside down.
Eric Falconer
Galashiels"
