Open our venues – Stop the cuts

The socialist-led UNISON Glasgow Branch is demanding the city’s SNP leadership re-open all Glasgow Life venues under council ownership. 

Glasgow Life has committeed to opening around 90 venues however this leaves dozens of local community centres, libraries, outdoor sports facilities and museums closed due to a lack of funding. 

Around £17M in additional funding is needed this year to open all venues.
The trade union opposes the council’s plan to force local community groups or charities to step-in to keep services going.

Brian Smith, UNISON Branch Secretary said: “Glasgow deserves better public services and the council leaders should be investing in, not trying to cut services. 
The council leaders are using the language of “community empowerment” to try and off load the responsibility for providing some services.  

Of course local communities must be centrally involved in shaping public services in their areas but they should not be asked to run them.  

Our city needs responsive public services provided by workers in secure jobs, under the democratic control of the council.”

UNISON is calling on all Glasgow City Councillors to support this position and linking the call to the long standing trade union demand of bringing the unaccountable Glasgow Life ALEO back under full council control.

The joint trade unions in the city are also working alongside the community-led Glasgow Against Closures campaigning and are calling for union members to attend a protest on Saturday 5 June in George Square at 12 noon.

Stop the cuts

Perpetual austerity puts at risk the long term financial sustainability of councils. Cuts to staffing levels place a huge strain on the remaining workforce.

Cuts in funding have been made worse in areas with increased demand such as social care and children’s services.

Council workers have faced real term pay cuts as well as attacks on terms and conditions. Blaming the Tories at Westminster is easy to do but is a cop out.

Councillors of every political persuasion have meekly voted for cuts budgets in every council chamber in the country.

Not one has had the conviction to say enough is enough, stand with the workforce and use their powers to set no cuts budgets.

We have had the same tired excuses that they have no choice. Genuine socialist councillors would link up with the trade unions in building resistance and defiance to the Tory government.

Working-class communities across Scotland are crying out for investment in jobs and local services.

There have been local strikes and struggles against cuts, workloads and attacks on terms and conditions in a number of councils.

The task for the major trade unions is to build for co-ordinated and sustained action. As was seen in the magnificent Equal Pay struggle in Glasgow in 2018, the wider working class will fight to win investment in jobs and services.

The demand for the return of the millions of pounds stolen from council budgets will gain increasing support.

Legal no cuts budgets must be set by councils as part of that wider campaign – along with industrial action – to defeat the agents of austerity at Westminster, Holyrood and councils.

To do that we need to build a new workers’ party. It’s clear that the SNP, Scottish Greens and Labour councillors are not prepared to fight for working-class communities.

Socialist Party Scotland fights for the building of a new mass workers’ party. We call on the trade unions to organise a conference to do just that.

That’s why we helped build the election challenge of the Scottish Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition in the recent elections on 6 May. Join us in the fight for socialist change.