Save Our School Buses campaign launched to fight cuts in Glasgow
By Anne McAllister, affected parent and Socialist Party Scotland
Glasgow City Labour council have recently written to parents in the city to inform them of a decision that was taken in February as part of the councils cuts budget to change the criteria for eligibility for free school transport. The council is increasing the qualification for entitlement to free mainstream school transport for secondary pupils from more than 2 miles to more than 3 miles.
The petition set up by the parents and the Save Our School Buses campaign, which over 2,000 people have signed, makes the following points “We believe that this increased distance is too far to expect a child to walk to school, never mind the weather conditions such as the rain and snow. Our children will be tired, cold and maybe even soaked through before they even start school. How can we then expect our children to be able to learn when tired, cold and wet?
Thanks to the council amalgamating many schools, the distance that needs to be travelled is now much further for many pupils. Many of the children will have to leave the house around 7.30 am to arrive at school for 8.40 and then will not get home until after 4pm on the days they finish at 3pm and after 5pm when they finish at 4pm. Also, this would mean that in the winter months they will be expected to walk in the dark unsupervised through the underpasses as many of the parents will be at work”.
Approximately £200,000 a year will be spent by low income families on using expensive bus services to and from school. This is money that is currently being used to buy school snacks, lunches and family evening meals. It’s money used to pay fuel bills, council tax, school clothes and shoes. Incredibly, Labour councillor Stephen Curran, Executive member for Education and Young People, insists that the money saved will be used to retain teachers and that the changes agreed at the councils budget meeting in February are still within the statutory obligation.
Yet again the working class and poor in Glasgow are being hammered by the Labour council passing on Tory austerity.
Angry parents are raising questions. Why has it taken from February to June to issue letters to parents? There has been no consultation with parents or pupils to date and the Scottish school holidays have now begun. This means that the council is in recess and no surgeries are held until August when the new rules come into force.
If the Labour council were trying to avoid protests they have failed. Parents have already organised public meetings in local areas.
On the 25TH June over 100 parents and pupils held a lively protest outside Glasgow City Chambers, blocking the road. Labour councillors refused to come out and speak to protesters and locked them out. The Save Our School Buses protest joined the Glasgow Homeless Caseworkers who were also rallying outside. A joint rally was held with the strikers and their trade union Glasgow City Unison which has pledged full support for the campaign.
Glasgow City Unison Social Work Convenor and Socialist Party Scotland member Ian Leech made the point at the rally that workers and communities needed to unite together to fight all cuts.
SNP councillors joined the protest and have been present at the Save Our School Buses public meetings. At the rally the SNP claimed they would not have made this cut if they were in power in Glasgow and that they opposed this part of the council cuts budget in February.
However, it should be remembered that the SNP in opposition also proposed a cuts budget, only offering an alternative that would have held off £4.6 million of Labours £29 million cuts. They rejected the trade union’s call for a no cuts budget. Even if the school bus services had not been cut the SNP would have cut other vital services.
The SNP in government in Scotland are making cuts to schools budgets. In Dundee the ruling SNP administration have voted to close a local high school and implement tens of millions of cuts. This shows working class people cannot rely on the SNP to fight austerity we need a new mass party of our own committed to fighting all austerity cuts 100% and for a socialist society.
Socialist Party Scotland says
- Reverse the cut to the school bus service entitlement immediately. For free school transport for all
- Glasgow City Council should refuse to implement the cuts and set a no cuts budget. Build a mass campaign of workers, trade unions, service users and communities to demand the money back that has been stolen in cuts by Westminster and passed on by Holyrood.
