Archive press releases
Press release 16 Nov 98
Evening News Shock for School Meals Staff
School meals workers facing 90job losses were shocked last night to find their jobs were being advertised in the Evening News.
UNISON, the union representing school meals staff, has responded furiously to this "breach or and lodged a formal dispute with Edinburgh Catering to stop these adverts until the mess is sorted out.
UNISON has an agreereent that any changes in hours. severances or retirements would be voluntary The union is appaled that callers responding to the advert have been told that the Jobs were coming up because people would be made redundant if they were not prepared to accept reduced hours.
"This comes only weeks after management agreed a joint plan with the union to stop people being bullied into changing their hours and to make sure that the agreement that all changes would be voluntary was properly implemented", said Morag Stevenson, Edinburgh City UNISON Brarich Secretary.
"The purpose or these adverts was to fill gaps in the service which had been created by voluntary severances. It is disgraceful and underhand of Edinburgh Catering to imply it is planning to fill the jobs ofr staff who have forcibly been made redundant".
"I am sure that the people or Edinburgh, who backed the school meals campaign so strongly through the summer, will feel betrayed by the way the staff are being tmated", added Mrs Stevenson.
Despite the huge Council cut in support for school meals, the UNISON and public campaign earlier this year led to saving most of the service and reducing job cuts from 350 to 90.
Press Release Date: 28 September 1998
Response to Chancellor Gordon Brown's speech to Labour Party Conference
UNISON Calls for Lifeline for Local Government
UNISON's City of Edinburgh Branch has reacted to Gordon Brown's Speech to the Labour Party Conference by calling for a lifeline for Local Government. The Branch issued the following statement today.
"We welcome Gordon Brown's call for long term stability. Local Government more than most has suffered from policies that mean it cannot plan, it cannot invest and it cannot protect and build services.
But the Chancellor's vision is not matched by the reality of councils limping from year to year with more and more cuts and privatisation. Yet again it looks like our members, our services and the people who depend on them, will end up paying the human price of political vision.
Gordon Brown's speech rightly looks to the long term, but does nothing to deal with the here and now crisis in local government. Our members and their services lost out under the Conservatives, now they are losing out again. It is hard to see the broader picture when your conditions are cut and your livelihood is threatened. It is hard to see the broader picture when the services you rely on continue to be savaged.
Challenging that is not a 'vested interest', it is a legitimate demand to know why we are being asked to pay the price again.
Our message to Gordon Brown is that there is real strength in taking the hard decisions and sticking to your guns. But is also takes courage to be flexible. Local Government cannot wait for things to get better, it needs a lifeline now."