COUNCIL TRADE UNIONS CALL FOR ONE YEAR OF NO BUDGET CUTS

JOINT TRADE UNIONS CALL FOR 1 YEAR OF NO BUDGET CUTS

Members across all service groups have advised their trade unions (UNISON, UNITE, GMB & The EiS) that;

we can’t do any more with any less

cuts are crippling the council

multiple restructure and redesigns are severely damaging people’s mental & physical health

the council has been cut beyond the bone and many statutory services are now impacted

there is cuts fatigue

THINGS NEED TO CHANGE – CUTS FATIGUE

No one is buying the spin any longer, the information comes out forecasting massive budget deficits, panic, fear, alarm doom and gloom sets in with the workforce and community. At the end of the day money appears from somewhere and although the cuts are bad, they’re never as bad as projected with officers and councillors proclaiming its their efforts and good work that has protected some while swinging the axe on others.

The Joint Trade Unions don’t want to play political games, we know the council blames Holyrood, then Holyrood blames Westminster and so on and so forth however…. we don’t seek to apportion blame, we seek urgent resolution.

AUSTERITY HAS LED TO THE DEMISE OF LOCAL DEMOCRACY

Successive Tory governments passing on cuts and our own Scottish Government underfunding local authorities has led to this Austerity, which has been going on for well over a decade now.

Many councils in Scotland are teetering on the brink of financial ruin including our own here in West Dunbartonshire, this is why right now, is the time to stand up and be different! Fight back and lead a campaign against austerity.

Our workers live by massive majority in our communities and they now tell us that “WE ARE BEYOND ENOUGH IS ENOUGH”

Our collective memberships serve the most vulnerable people in our shire but according to government data, our citizens are amongst some of the most disadvantaged members of society, Scotland wide. Our society is broken when we allow the most vulnerable, to suffer the most.

Goodwill is the currency local government has traded on for far too long with our members telling us that they simply cannot cope any longer.

Dedicated and experienced professionals across many occupational groups are leaving the council in their droves and we can’t recruit in their place. Local Government positions are not attractive any more due to various terms and conditions being slashed for over a decade making the offer less appealing than what it used to be.

VISION FOR THE FUTURE

Local Government needs a massive cash injection in order just to stand still never mind replace what we have lost.

West Dunbartonshire Joint Trade Unions call on all of our elected officials to make a stand, with us and with our community.

We say;

balance the budget but use every penny available now to ensure no cuts are made

stand with your community who elected you on a barrage of over promises which have been massively underdelivered upon

lead us on a massive community engaged campaign against austerity in our shire

We know many local authorities are in the same boat…. what has been done before with successive cuts has not worked and we can all see that

We must be crazy to even think that more cuts are the solution when the Insurmountable evidence paints a picture of utter devastation

As soon as one local authority stands and says NO MORE CUTS we firmly believe other local authorities will declare the same and this will lead to a groundswell of the masses in a nationwide campaign which will commence as soon as the first council stands up to this oppressive cuts agenda forced on local government

We call on the council to lead in this time of dark uncertainty instead of meekly passing on more cuts yet again

WD JTU