Responding to today’s Queen’s Speech, UNISON general secretary Dave Prentis said:
“The plans set out in the Queen’s Speech will do very little for working people or the unemployed.
“Four years of devastating cuts have led to a dramatic drop in living standards, while workers are relying increasingly on foodbanks and in-work benefits to make ends meet. Today, the Government offered little hope to almost one million young people who are unemployed, little help to make work pay for the record number of workers under-employed on part-time, temporary and zero hour contracts.
“It’s a missed opportunity to end zero hour contracts that exploit workers and have a negative impact on the standard of service that the sick, the vulnerable and the elderly rely on.”
On schools he said:
“Plans to rush through more academy schools and free schools will only lead to a top slicing of education budgets to pay for them. The knock-on effect will be dwindling budgets for mainstream schools, hitting children in vulnerable areas hardest.”
On energy he said:
“It is alarming to hear that fracking firms will no longer need prior permission to run shale gas pipelines on private land. What is really needed is a freeze on energy prices and long-term investment to wipe out the dramatic increase of fuel poverty.”
On preparing school pupils for employment he said:
“The Government talked about preparing school pupils for employment, but over the past four years its swingeing cuts to the Connexions service and local authorities has abandoned pupils to a postcode lottery by forcing many careers advisers to sell their services to the lowest bidder.”
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