Edinburgh Council plans to put through £36 million in cuts on 13 February. This is on top of £90 million since 2011, and £175 million since 2007. Services just cannot survive with this kind of attack year on year.
We know the cuts are driven by Westminster. We know that Holyrood has just passed these cuts on, singling out local government for the lion’s share. But we want to hear our politicians standing up for our local services, not just passing the cuts on.
As UNISON General Secretary Dave Prentis said: “No school cleaner gambled billions on the stock exchange – No home carer, no social worker, no librarian. None of them created this recession. Why should they be expected to pay for it?”
Council services are about people. People provide them and people rely on them. Every service is affected. These cuts have a real human cost. A human cost like…
• Elderly and disabled people paying more for care
• Services for people with physical disabilities facing funding cuts and reduced staffing
• People with learning disabilities being forced to pay for the support they need to live independently
• Class sizes rising and some head teachers and classroom assistants losing their jobs
Jobs have been lost and will be lost. We hope to avoid compulsory redundancies but what about the council staff left behind?
• Workers expected to deliver more and more with less people and less resources
• Cuts disguised as front line staff are working at breaking point to deliver more for less
• More and more people crammed into fewer buildings affecting morale and health and safety
• Chaotic reorganisations ignoring staff knowledge and skills and service to the public
• Cuts to conditions and a pay freeze that means workers’ spending power has dropped by 16%
All this when local people and local businesses need investment in public services to boost the local economy for everyone.
Your union is urging you to turn out to protest at the City Chambers from 08.30 on Thursday 13 February.
UNISON is urging the Council to publish a budget that shows how services for the people of Edinburgh could be saved if it were not for government cuts.
DON’T LET THE CUTS GO UNNOTICED. LET THE PUBLIC KNOW WHAT THEY WILL MEAN FOR THEM.
See the unions’ staff side response to the budget at http://www.unison-edinburgh.org.uk/response/budget2014.html