“Public sector workers are struggling to hold society together and trying to keep their own families together” – and they are looking for support from Labour.
That was the stark message to the Scottish Labour conference in Dundee today from UNISON as delegate Gordon McKay moved a motion condemning condemning public sector pay freezes and pay cuts.
The union had a clear warning for the party as well.
“A consensus with the Tories on austerity, on attacking public sector workers will not work,” said Mr McKay. “It didn’t in the 1930s and it won’t today.”
Instead, if Labour wants to win votes and elections, he said, “Scottish Labour needs to come out with a vision of fairness and social justice.”
And with UNISON Scotland due to start industrial action in the NHS later this month to get Scottish government ministers to the negotiating table to talk about pensions, Mr McKay told delegates: “We were grateful for the support on 30 November.
“But UNISON members will be on strike as from 13 March in the NHS defending our pensions.
“We expect the same support from the Labour leadership today as we had then.
“We are sure that the fact there is now no leadership election will not affect that support in any way.”
UNISON Labour Link – promoting UNISON in Labour