Latest news with #STUC
The National
an hour ago
- Climate
- The National
People urged to report rogue employers during Scotland heatwave
Scotland is currently experiencing a period of extremely warm weather, with Friday being the hottest day of the year so far as some areas of the country saw highs of 28C. While temperatures are expected to cool slightly on Saturday, Scots can expect to see similar conditions. READ MORE: Scotland's largest private landowner proposes sauna plans for Loch Ness pub On Friday, the Scottish Trades Union Congress (STUC) – Scotland's largest trade union body – relaunched its severe weather guide and survey, which informs workers of their rights at work during extreme weather. It said it was "turning up the heat" on employers as it encouraged workers to report any incidents of poor employer practise during the heatwave. The STUC has previously issued guidance during other extreme weather events, such as Storm Eowyn in January, when it said workers felt "endangered" by their employers who had asked them to travel to work despite the red weather warning. It has also developed a Fair Work Charter for Severe Weather alongside the Scottish Government, which recommends that all workplaces have a Severe Weather Policy in place to prioritise workers' safety. Commenting, STUC general secretary Roz Foyer said: 'There is simply no excuse for employers to play fast and loose with the health and safety of workers as temperatures look set to rise across the country. READ MORE: Scottish Government announces £23.5 million for active travel programmes 'Every workplace should put in the necessary mitigations to ensure that the wellbeing of their workforce, ranging from preventing unnecessary exposure to the sun to cooling mechanisms inside office spaces. 'We are encouraging all workers to know their rights ahead of this weekend's potential heatwave. They should not be put in harm's way and we would encourage everyone to complete our extreme weather survey so we may turn up the heat on the bosses who disregard the safety of their workers.
STV News
a day ago
- Business
- STV News
Minister announces £1bn in savings to be redirected to frontline services
The Scottish Government has launched a brand new public service reform strategy to make £1bn of savings in the next five years. Ivan McKee set out a range of reforms to Scotland's public sector on Thursday as he aims to make it efficient and fit for the future. He said spending from 'back office costs' will be cut by 20%, with the cash being redirected to frontline services. By 2029-30, the Government estimates this will amount to £1bn a year in savings, freeing up cash in areas such as the NHS. 'This will require every part of the public sector to reduce the cost of doing business to prioritise the frontline,' McKee said. 'The aim is to do things better, not do less.' McKee said the Scottish Government will achieve the savings through a combination of automation, digitisation, estate rationalisation, and workforce reform. Among the 80 actions set out in Mr McKee's reforms include changes to the culture of the public sector and those in charge of it. The number of public bodies will be reduced to drive a more efficient system alongside a new review of public sector buildings. The minister said the Government will embrace automation and new technology to digitise government. The Scottish Trades Union Congress (STUC) criticised the strategy of 'missing the mark'. 'Whenever government ministers speak of public sector 'efficiencies', workers anxiously hold their breath,' said STUC general secretary Roz Foyer. 'These cuts, prepacked as reforms, miss the mark entirely. Simply put: you can't fix public services by cutting the very people who keep them running. Talk of reducing headcount while NHS waiting times spiral, A&E departments are overwhelmed and social care is in crisis is as reckless as it is illogical.' She said Scotland deserves public services that are properly funded, and 'not an overreliance on technology to plug staffing shortages'. 'The reality is that Scotland's fiscal future demands honesty and ambition. Instead of chasing cuts disguised as reform, ministers should be adopting progressive tax policies that can raise the revenue we need,' Ms Foyer said. 'Before racing ahead with changes, the Scottish Government must engage in serious dialogue with the trade union movement. We've been clear: we will not support any programme that threatens jobs, conditions or the quality of the services our communities rely on. That position remains the same.' The Tory shadow secretary for finance slammed the reforms as a 'wish-list of word soup that fails to mention waste once'. 'Despite the SNP saying we were reckless for proposing fully costed tax cuts worth £500m, they now claim they can save £1bn by merely slashing corporate functions,' MSP Craig Hoy said. 'There is still an astonishing lack of detail as to where these savings will be made, or what quangos will be axed. The public simply will not trust the SNP to suddenly tackle the enormous waste they have presided over.' Daniel Johnson, Scottish Labour's finance spokesman, said he welcomed the 'overall sentiment' but feared it amounted to 'a plan for a plan'. He said Thursday's statement was 'an acknowledgement that we have a billion pounds worth of waste'. He added: 'Reform, to my mind, is not about shrinking the state, but maximising its effectiveness and you cannot ignore the fact that over the past decade, the civil service has grown at three times the rate of the NHS, while police, fire and colleges' headcounts have all fallen.' Get all the latest news from around the country Follow STV News Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country
The Herald Scotland
a day ago
- Entertainment
- The Herald Scotland
March through Glasgow city centre to mark World Refugee Day
There, a free family-friendly music carnival will take place with speeches from campaigners and music acts from bands and musical artists including former Scots Singer of the Year Iona Fyfe. The demonstration calls for an end to the scapegoating of refugees and migrants, safe routes for those seeking asylum, an end to the deportations the Labour government is ramping up and to lift the ban that prevents asylum seekers from working. Read More: Supporters include former First Minister Humza Yousaf, comedian Frankie Boyle, the STUC and various trades unions, the Scottish Refugee Council and other leading refugee rights organisations, Stand Up to Racism and Love Music Hate Racism. Mohammad Asif, Afghan Human Rights Foundation director, said: 'Refugees are the direct result of injustice and illegal wars and illegal invasions. We are the victims of profound injustices. We are mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, children, with the same hopes and ambitions. 'The far right are attempting to seize the 'grooming gangs' issue to stir up Islamophobia, racism and division and we need to come together to fight this cancer in our society.' Robina Qureshi, director of Positive Action in Housing, said: 'The Prime Ministers' recent anti-immigration rhetoric echoes the far right—blaming refugees and migrants for the consequences of political failure. 'Migrants are not the problem. They are our family members, our friends, neighbours, co-workers, carers, and part of the communities that keep this country going. 'This government could fix the housing crisis, fund public services, and support working people—but instead, it scapegoats the vulnerable and fans the flames of racism. We will stand united to resist this politics of fear and division.' Aamer Anwar, human rights lawyer, said: 'With the rise of the far-right and Reform in the UK, fascist ideas once relegated to the gutter are treated as mainstream ideas, feted by the media. "We have no alternative but to fight back, to counter every hate-filled racist lie and to defend our communities. We have won before and will do so again, but I feel the stakes have never been higher.'
The Herald Scotland
a day ago
- Business
- The Herald Scotland
Does a civil service shake-up loom in the £1bn crackdown?
She was not someone who tolerated unwise spending by family members or by her employer. I can't remember exactly what the issues were that so exercised her in her office many years ago, but it's clear concerns surrounding the inefficient use of public resources persist to this day. READ MORE: Scottish Government confirm plan cut to public sector 'waste' by £1bn a year STUC leader in warning to Swinney ahead of £1bn crackdown on public sector 'waste' SNP ministers to unveil £1 billion crackdown on public sector 'waste' What's behind the Scottish Government drive to cut public sector 'waste'? It's a matter that John Swinney identified back in 2011 setting up the Commission on the Future Delivery of Public Services in Scotland, chaired by Dr Campbell Christie, which had been tasked with examining the long-term challenges facing public services—including budget pressures, demographic change, rising demand and persistent inequalities. The Commission's report called for preventative and collaborative approaches to address systemic challenges, prioritising prevention to reduce long-term costs, enhancing performance through technology, and closer working across sectors. In a speech on Monday, Mr Swinney referred to the creation of Police Scotland, where the country's eight police forces were amalgamated into one organisation, as one of the "key successes" from the Christie report noting the restructure had led to over £200m a year in savings. Speaking in Holyrood today public finance minister Ivan McKee said a further £280m in efficiencies savings had been made through other changes such as cutting down on duplication and through the greater use of technology. But his aim is to save a further £720m to reach a target of £1bn by 2029/30. It's a huge ambition and one likely to require significant changes, ones well beyond cutting down on duplication and greater use of AI and review of the running of costly its buildings and estates. The elephant in the room is of course the number of public bodies and the number of people they employ. There are currently 130 quangos, and 55 civil service directorates in the Scottish Government covering a wide range of responsibilities, including one for the constitution, another for the EU, multiple ones relating to health, energy and climate, the environment. The list goes on. The obvious question is does Scotland need 55 civil service directorates and 130 quangos? It's significant I think that both Mr Swinney and Mr McKee have been talking up the reorganisation of Police Scotland and the amount of money the restructure has saved - £200m a year. Against such a backdrop it would be no huge surprise if major restructures were on the cards for other organisations. But such major changes could well lead to rows with the trade unions - with the STUC already issuing a warning to the government about its reforms. So while Mr McKee has laid out his initial plans today, he and his colleagues may well be putting off the harder spending and restructuring decisions until after May 2026 election.
The National
a day ago
- Business
- The National
Scottish Government's £1bn public service reforms branded 'reckless'
Public finance minister Ivan McKee has led a drive to cut waste, resulting in the publication of a 49-page document on Thursday. The plans would reportedly save £1 billion annually over the next five years. The report does not explicitly say what parts of the state will be cut, or the number of jobs likely to be lost in the civil service as a result of the changes. However, it pledges to make public services more efficient and work better together, along with a greater emphasis on prevention. READ MORE: Holyrood governing body defends 'unfair' trans toilet ban The Scottish Trade Union Congress (STUC) criticised the plans and said 'you can't fix public services by cutting the very people who keep them running'. Ministers can 'remove, amalgamate or change the number of public bodies where doing so will increase efficiency, remove duplication and improve service delivery', the document said. Addressing MSPs, McKee said the Scottish Government recognised that, despite increased spending on public services, satisfaction with them has fallen. 'We must rapidly increase the scale and pace of reform, building on the strong foundations we have in Scotland – our shared vision and shared values,' he said. 'We need to intervene earlier to prevent expensive crisis interventions later. 'This strategy sets out a bold, system-wide approach to changing how we think and how we behave across the public service system. It maximises impact across the whole system, not just in individual organisations.' He added: 'Through the tools at our disposal, the efficiency workstreams in our strategy will reduce identified costs on Scottish Government and public body spend on corporate functions by 20 per cent over the next five years, which equates to an annualised £1bn cost reduction by 2029-30. 'This will require every part of the public sector to reduce the cost of doing business to prioritise the front line. 'All public bodies are already required to deliver best value, but this is about going further, and faster. It is about taking all available opportunities to introduce and embed efficiency through automation, digitisation, estate rationalisation, and changing the delivery landscape.' Earlier this week, First Minister John Swinney said it was 'inevitable' that the number of civil servants would reduce, a sentiment the minister did not shy away from, saying reductions in the workforce would 'continue' in the coming years. READ MORE: John Swinney tears into 'weak man' Anas Sarwar at FMQs McKee insisted that public sector staff are 'key partners' and ministers can't deliver change without them. STUC general secretary Roz Foyer said that the announcement was 'cuts repackaged as reforms' and 'miss the mark entirely'. 'Talk of reducing headcount while NHS waiting times spiral, A&E departments are overwhelmed and social care is in crisis is as reckless as it is illogical,' she said. 'Scotland deserves public services that are properly funded. 'That requires investment in people, not an overreliance on technology to plug staffing shortages. (Image: free) 'We are not opposed to changes in our public sector structures but genuine reform means learning from the Christie Commission and the brutal lessons of the pandemic — not repeating past mistakes by stretching workers past breaking point.' Foyer argued that Scottish ministers should be adopting progressive taxation policies to raise revenue rather than push forward with cuts. 'Before racing ahead with changes, the Scottish Government must engage in serious dialogue with the trade union movement,' she added. 'We've been clear: we will not support any programme that threatens jobs, conditions or the quality of the services our communities rely on. That position remains the same.' Scottish Tory finance spokesman Craig Hoy attacked the announcement as 'word soup'. READ MORE: In the Holyrood chamber, Hoy pushed McKee on what tangible actions will be taken, as he urged the Government to 'start swinging the axe'. Responding, the minister said: 'I think it's important to understand that if you're serious about making real change and having delivered transformation programmes in the private sector and elsewhere, you need to understand the drivers that are causing barriers to prevent you doing that. 'Just swinging a big axe isn't going to deliver services, we've seen that across the Atlantic, where Elon Musk, who's no longer with the Trump administration precisely because he went in with a big axe and started cutting stuff and it immediately backfired because he didn't know what he was doing.'
