Public and Commercial Services Union
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PCS response to Scottish Budget - There is an alternative to cuts

The PCS Union in responding to Scottish Ministers budget announcement yesterday believes there is an alternative to cutting public sector pay and jobs.

The fact that the Scottish government has spent £250 million on consultants and private sector agency workers and is now freezing the pay of low paid public sector workers is shocking. PCS will be outlining our “alternative” at a lobby of the Scottish Parliament at 11.30 tomorrow (Thursday 18 November).

In response to the budget announcement on jobs, PCS welcomes the commitment to no compulsory redundancies and will press the cabinet secretary for finance, John Swinney to lead by example by announcing the continuation of this policy for staff directly under the control of Scottish ministers in the civil service, agencies and non-departmental public bodies.

On pay, PCS believes that low paid workers should not be penalised and recognises that with RPI now at 4.5% a pay freeze is a real terms cut. In relation to the announcement on encouraging employers to pay a Scottish Living Wage (£7.15 per hour) this is welcome news and something that PCS negotiated in Highlands and Islands enterprise and Scottish enterprise in 2009.

In terms of the announcement to switch some resource monies into capital budgets PCS is of the view that this will have a further disproportionate impact on public sector women workers and this will be borne out in any equality impact assessment and we look forward to confirmation from the Minister that this is carried out. Making women bear the brunt of deficit cutting measures makes a mockery of the government’s claimed commitment to fairness.

Lynn Henderson, PCS Scottish secretary said “PCS believes there is an alternative to accepting the Scottish budget crisis. Not a penny should be cut from pay nor a job lost while the scandal of the £250 million paid to consultants and contractors continues.

“Our members in the Scottish public sector stand shoulder to shoulder with workers across UK and Scottish areas and we will work with other unions to fight cuts.”

 

 

 

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