Edinburgh budget response: Defending services or administering austerity?

UNISON's Tom Connolly made the following submission to Edinburgh City Council's budget meeting today as Joint Trade Unions Staff Side Secretary.  

As we come towards the end of the organisational review processes associated with the Transformation programme, we have witnessed the loss of over 1400 jobs.

We have real concerns of the current and future impact on our member’s terms and conditions, their lack of resources and excessive workloads and the negative impact that this has on the services provided to the most vulnerable and deprived.

UNISON’s initial response to City of Edinburgh draft budget

Having given the proposals contained within the City of Edinburgh’s draft budget for 2015/16 careful consideration and consulted upon them, UNISON City of Edinburgh Branch would wish to make the following observations on behalf of its membership.

Firstly, UNISON has consistently been clear that there is a political alternative to further cuts and that implementing cuts contributes to a vicious circle of less money in the local economy and ironically even more cuts. This does not just affect the council but creates problems across the whole local economy.

UNISON is keenly aware that the legal choices available to the council are limited due to the austerity measures imposed by the Westminster government and the priority decisions taken by the Holyrood government. The latter has seen Local Government carry the lion’s share of cuts with the loss of up to 39,000 jobs across Scotland with that potentially doubling in coming years.

UNISON response to Edinburgh cuts - government must put cash in

As Edinburgh fights to find £67 million in cuts on top of almost £200 million in recent years, UNISON’s Edinburgh Branch is calling on the Scottish Government to put cash in now ‘before local services disappear for ever’.

“All the salami slicing has now been done. Reorganisations, back office cuts that create more work and are false economies, and a wage freeze have delivered as much as they can and we are going to see frontline services disappearing never to return”, warned John Stevenson, UNISON Edinburgh branch president.

“Councils like Edinburgh cannot wait for a review of funding a year down the road. The Scottish Government must step in now before local government becomes unviable.”

UNISON has yet to consult on the detail of the budget cuts but it is warning that lessons from the past need to be learned. It understands that a neighbourhood system is envisaged with cuts at middle management level. This is deeply worrying in several services which are only able to carry on functioning because managers are covering for staff shortages and to manage huge workloads. The dangers of undermanaged services for staff and for service users have been writ large in Edinburgh before and in other authorities.

Aberdeen had a neighbourhood system that was roundly condemned in a child protection inspection. Edinburgh had a neighbourhood system a few years ago that cost £9 million and lost direct lines of accountability for social work which was also criticised in an inspection. Any new system must learn from these lessons.

UNISON will also be demanding that the council sticks to its no compulsory redundancy pledge.

“One of the biggest pressures faced by councils amidst the cuts is the growing need for social care and children’s services. These are all provided directly by people, many of whom are paid a pittance. Cut the people and you cut the services”, added UNISON’s Tom Connolly who is secretary for the staff side of all the council unions.

“Labour and the SNP have shown in Edinburgh that they can work together and we are calling on them to stand up for the services they were elected to protect”.

Edinburgh council budget staff side response

The Trade Union Side recognises that the City of Edinburgh Council like all other local authorities have seen a substantial reduction in their Grant Allocation from the Scottish Government and continue to operate within the financial constraints resulting from the Council Tax Freeze.

UNISON has ‘grave concerns’ over Edinburgh budget cuts

UNISON, the biggest union representing workers at The City of Edinburgh Council, has issued a statement announcing “grave concerns” about service cuts highlighted in the draft budget proposals produced by the council.

“While we have some sympathy for the cuts being forced on the council by Westminster and Holyrood, our members have grave concerns that the proposals would see a scathing reduction in all the essential services the council provides, and as a result will affect every Edinburgh resident”, said Tom Connolly, UNISON City of Edinburgh Branch service conditions officer.

Edinburgh Budget: Services and living wage best way to help local economy

UNISON has called on today’s Edinburgh Council meeting to protect services and pay a living wage to help boost the local economy out of recession.

The union has also called on Holyrood and Westminster to stop starving local authorities of funding and take positive action to invest in services and jobs.

“We don’t doubt that the Council faces difficult challenges from huge cuts in central government funding in the next three years. But it is now time to take a different approach and abandon costly consultants and privatisations and get on with engaging their own workers in protecting everyone’s local services”, said John Stevenson, Edinburgh UNISON President.

“There is an alternative to the slash and burn that is getting the whole economy deeper and deeper into trouble”, said Mr Stevenson, calling on national government to fund local councils properly and “abandon the failed policies of austerity which are creating more unemployment, more poverty and fatally undermining the services we all rely on.”

“The best way to deal with the deficit is to create employment, not cut it. Rebuilding public services benefits both the public sector and the private sector. The more people there are in work, the more there is in taxes to deal with the deficit and the more there is to put back into the economy.

“One way to do that in Edinburgh would be to pay a living wage of at least £7.20 an hour and encourage other employers to do the same. Unlike the very rich, low paid public service workers spend most of what they earn in the local economy.That money would go into Edinburgh businesses at a time when they need it most.

“Overall, the best way to use the undoubted wealth that exists in the UK is to put it to work for everyone rather than being hoarded by the few.”

Edinburgh budget goes through despite protests

The Edinburgh Lib Dem/ SNP budget, threatening 1,200 jobs, has been voted through on the casting vote of the Lord Provost. Labour's alternative budget which would have avoided compulsory redundancies, protected services to the most vulnerable and set in train a process to get a living wage of at least £7.15 for the lowest paid, was beaten despite the Tories voting with them.

Check out the website for full details http://www.unison-edinburgh.org.uk/

Edinburgh Council votes to close Blindcraft

The news from the Edinburgh Council budget meeting is that Blindcraft is to close. More details to follow
http://news.stv.tv/scotland/east-central/227304-blindcraft-factory-to-close/

Check out the website for full details http://www.unison-edinburgh.org.uk/

ABANDON PRIVATISATION AND SAVE SERVICES, UNISON TELLS EDINBURGH COUNCIL ON BUDGET DAY

Members of UNISON's Edinburgh branch will lobby the City of Edinburgh Council Budget Meeting at the City Chambers, High Street, Edinburgh on Thursday 10 February 2011 from 08.30 - 9.30 to urge the council to protect front line services, avoid compulsory redundancies and abandon 'wasteful' privatisation plans.

The union has produced a briefing for councillors urging them to look at new ways of generating income in light of central government cuts and to consider a 'living wage' to protect the lowest paid workers.

John Stevenson, UNISON Edinburgh Branch President, said: "We know from the economists who actually predicted the crash that cuts like these are not needed and they are likely to damage the economy further. The UK Government cut £6 billion from public services in June and now we hear bankers are to give themselves the same £6 billion in bonuses this year. Surely something is sadly wrong when public services and public service workers have to pay for the folly of the financial sector.

"But we also know that the council has to face the reality of the UK Coalition's cuts and the Scottish Government's budget settlement. That makes it all the more important that the Council does all in its power to stand up for Edinburgh's jobs and services now so that there will still be an infrastructure there to build on in the future."

Kevin Duguid, Branch Lead Negotiator said: "At times like these every penny counts. That is why we are calling on the Council to end its wasteful privatisation plans. This would save money on legal advice and consultants and free up managers and staff to get on with the job of providing services. All of the in-house service improvement models have shown that they will deliver significant savings, so why throw good money after bad by continuing down the privatisation road?"

Agnes Petkevicius, Branch Secretary, highlighted the human cost of cuts: "Council services are relied on by the elderly; disabled people; children: Essential services delivered directly by people like home carers, social care workers, classroom assistants, nursery nurses. Often the lowest paid and least valued. Services like roads, public safety, cleansing are relied on by everyone in Edinburgh - jobs delivered for Edinburgh people by Edinburgh people. People who put around 70p of every pound they earn back into the local economy.

"Despite council claims that front-line services will be protected, each and every one of these services is facing cuts. We need to bust the myth about front and back office jobs - they are all part of the team delivering essential services."

Calling for the council to avoid compulsory redundancies, Kevin Duguid said, "Unions will work with the Council but that is hard for workers to do when they could be forced on to the dole. Many are toiling to cover for the hundreds of jobs already lost without also being faced with the sack. A Council this size should be able to manage any job losses on a voluntary basis".

Check out the website for full details http://www.unison-edinburgh.org.uk/