Speaking from the Shadows
The Herald ran an article yesterday about talks between Scottish government, COSLA and the trade unions - aimed at avoiding compulsory redundancies in local councils?
But what caught my attention were the anonymous comments - of some 'senior union figures'
Just who are these spineless, nameless people - and why do they speak from the shadows - I asked myself?
Well, read on - and decide for yourself.
"Redundancy talks stall as unions walk"
by Gerry Braiden
"Moves to rule out compulsory redundancies in the public sector are “dead in the water”, with trade unions walking away from talks after failing to secure commitments.
The collapse follows reports yesterday that an agreement between the Scottish Government, councils and unions was close to being secured.
Last night senior union figures expressed surprise at the reports, accusing the Scottish Government of trying to make them sign up to something they said could not be delivered.
The “no compulsories” deal would have been in return for pay constraints and other cost-cutting measures, such as new working patterns. However, although the umbrella group for Scotland’s councils, Cosla, agreed to endorse the aspiration behind the framework, it said it could not guarantee there would be no compulsory redundancies.
Although the STUC claimed it was seeking more assurances over the deal, accusing the Scottish Government of “jumping the gun”, sources close to the negotiations have told The Herald the deal is dead.
The union source said: “There will be no more engagement from our side. We’ll work away at a local level but have no plans to continue these discussions at a national level.
“John Swinney was told last week that there was still some way to go but I can’t see how we can get back around the table now.
“Teaching unions were sceptical from the start. For party political reasons Unite were reluctant to do anything initiated by the SNP and Unison and GMB went along to see what could be thrashed out, while growing increasingly sceptical about what could be achieved.
“We waited for the Cosla meeting and when they couldn’t agree to a form of words on no compulsories its hard to see where this can go.”
Moves towards a framework were first mooted during the Scottish Government’s Budget speech, when Mr Swinney said the SNP could “sustain our policy position of no compulsory redundancies on condition that we can reach agreements on flexible working practices” and that “the key aim remains to maintain headcount as far as possible while living within a sharply reduced budget”.
It was unclear from the outset how the Government could secure no compulsories when it directly controls only limited pay negotiations and decisions over job losses, with less than 10% of public-sector workers under its direct control.
Labour MSP John Park said: “This has backfired spectacularly on the Government and goes to show the SNP understands little about the trade union movement.”
Jim McCabe, leader of North Lanarkshire Council and the Labour group at Cosla, said: “My colleagues at Cosla and I told John Swinney that we could not sign up to such an agreement some weeks ago. The only way we could guarantee that would be if the Scottish Government were to guarantee the same funding as in previous years. There has never been any prospect of a deal and this can therefore only be seen as petty electioneering.”
A Cosla spokesman said: “The bottom line is that Scotland’s councils cannot say that there will be no compulsory redundancies, because the hard financial facts are that there is not enough money in the system to keep staffing at current levels.”
However, the Government last night refused to acknowledge the plans had foundered.
A spokesman said: “Mr Swinney made clear in his Budget statement that he believed all public-sector employers in Scotland should engage with workers with the view of avoiding compulsory redundancies.
“We are pursuing this through discussion with Cosla and the STUC and have drafted a framework with this aim in mind.”
Well the likely answer is that by revealing their identities - these sad individuals would be exposed as Labour hacks - with a party political axe to grind.
Imagine how ridiculous the article would look - if presented in a slightly different way.
Comments from Senior Union Figures (Anonymous Labour)
Comment from John Park, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife (Labour)
Comment from Jim McCabe, Leader of North Lanarkshire Council (Labour)
Comment from the Scottish Government (SNP)
Now I have no problem with a bit of old-fashioned political knockabout - I just think that we should all know where people are coming from - including the trade unions.
But what caught my attention were the anonymous comments - of some 'senior union figures'
Just who are these spineless, nameless people - and why do they speak from the shadows - I asked myself?
Well, read on - and decide for yourself.
"Redundancy talks stall as unions walk"
by Gerry Braiden
"Moves to rule out compulsory redundancies in the public sector are “dead in the water”, with trade unions walking away from talks after failing to secure commitments.
The collapse follows reports yesterday that an agreement between the Scottish Government, councils and unions was close to being secured.
Last night senior union figures expressed surprise at the reports, accusing the Scottish Government of trying to make them sign up to something they said could not be delivered.
The “no compulsories” deal would have been in return for pay constraints and other cost-cutting measures, such as new working patterns. However, although the umbrella group for Scotland’s councils, Cosla, agreed to endorse the aspiration behind the framework, it said it could not guarantee there would be no compulsory redundancies.
Although the STUC claimed it was seeking more assurances over the deal, accusing the Scottish Government of “jumping the gun”, sources close to the negotiations have told The Herald the deal is dead.
The union source said: “There will be no more engagement from our side. We’ll work away at a local level but have no plans to continue these discussions at a national level.
“John Swinney was told last week that there was still some way to go but I can’t see how we can get back around the table now.
“Teaching unions were sceptical from the start. For party political reasons Unite were reluctant to do anything initiated by the SNP and Unison and GMB went along to see what could be thrashed out, while growing increasingly sceptical about what could be achieved.
“We waited for the Cosla meeting and when they couldn’t agree to a form of words on no compulsories its hard to see where this can go.”
Moves towards a framework were first mooted during the Scottish Government’s Budget speech, when Mr Swinney said the SNP could “sustain our policy position of no compulsory redundancies on condition that we can reach agreements on flexible working practices” and that “the key aim remains to maintain headcount as far as possible while living within a sharply reduced budget”.
It was unclear from the outset how the Government could secure no compulsories when it directly controls only limited pay negotiations and decisions over job losses, with less than 10% of public-sector workers under its direct control.
Labour MSP John Park said: “This has backfired spectacularly on the Government and goes to show the SNP understands little about the trade union movement.”
Jim McCabe, leader of North Lanarkshire Council and the Labour group at Cosla, said: “My colleagues at Cosla and I told John Swinney that we could not sign up to such an agreement some weeks ago. The only way we could guarantee that would be if the Scottish Government were to guarantee the same funding as in previous years. There has never been any prospect of a deal and this can therefore only be seen as petty electioneering.”
A Cosla spokesman said: “The bottom line is that Scotland’s councils cannot say that there will be no compulsory redundancies, because the hard financial facts are that there is not enough money in the system to keep staffing at current levels.”
However, the Government last night refused to acknowledge the plans had foundered.
A spokesman said: “Mr Swinney made clear in his Budget statement that he believed all public-sector employers in Scotland should engage with workers with the view of avoiding compulsory redundancies.
“We are pursuing this through discussion with Cosla and the STUC and have drafted a framework with this aim in mind.”
Well the likely answer is that by revealing their identities - these sad individuals would be exposed as Labour hacks - with a party political axe to grind.
Imagine how ridiculous the article would look - if presented in a slightly different way.
Comments from Senior Union Figures (Anonymous Labour)
Comment from John Park, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife (Labour)
Comment from Jim McCabe, Leader of North Lanarkshire Council (Labour)
Comment from the Scottish Government (SNP)
Now I have no problem with a bit of old-fashioned political knockabout - I just think that we should all know where people are coming from - including the trade unions.
