Solidarity member Brian Smith has been elected branch secretary of Glasgow City UNISON.  

Brian polled 990 votes and this significant victory underlines the base of support that Brian and the left in Unison in Glasgow have built as a result of battles over Single Status and the recent pay dispute.  Glasgow UNISON is the biggest UNISON branch in Scotland with around 14,000 members.

Below is Brian's statement that went out to all UNISON members in Glasgow.

Exposing the True Cost of PPP/PFI 

The folly of successive governments addiction to PPP/PFI schemes is exposed  once again, this time in The Highland Council Region where council tax payers will foot a bill of £621 million over the next 30 years for schools that could have been built for as little as £137 million. The money will go straight into the pockets of the private companies behind the scheme. 

Steve Arnott, Solidarity Assistant National Secretary is from Inverness. Steve said; 

"The taxpayers of the Highland’s will be paying this debt for decades to come. Part of the appeal of PPPs and PFI's we were told was by bringing in the private sector to deliver these contracts because it didn't have to appear on the government's balance sheet. But EU regulations from April demands that they are shown on the balance sheet and only then will we get the true scale of the national debt."

The Gala Demo

Whilst the huge demonstrations against the attacks on Gaza at the weekend in London and Edinburgh dominated news coverage, equally important but smaller events took place in smaller towns all across the UK.

In Scotland, demonstrations took place in Galashiels and Inverness that were well supported. Please click below for photos of both demos and a press release from the Galashiels event.

Glasgow Community Service Workers Strike

 Glasgow Council’s 21 Community Service Supervisors have been on indefinite strike action since 6 January.  

The workers supervise offenders who have been given community service as an alternative to prison. They work on their own every day with five offenders undertaking gardening, home decoration, joinery or environmental projects.  The Council want to give them additional duties including assessing work requests from the public (often from those who cannot afford to pay for gardening or decoration services), developing new placements, training offenders, driving council vehicles, placing offenders in appropriate squads, assessing offenders “attitude, development and employability” and a compulsory increase in hours and days worked.  

Stop the War on Gaza

Please attend one of the events below and protest about the slaughter of men, women and children by Israel.

Gaza vigil in Galashiels 09/01/09

Saturday 10 Jan – Stop the War on Gaza - Stop Israel's Crime against Humanity

Scotland-wide Demonstration in EdinburghAssemble 12:30pm East Market Street (behind Edinburgh Waverley Train Station) March through the city centre and to the US Consulate - Bring in-date medicine for Gaza, and spare shoes. 

Supported by Stop the War Scotland, Glasgow and Edinburgh, Pauline McNeil MSP, Sandra White MSP, Muslim Association of Britain, Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign, Glasgow Palestine Human Rights Campaign, Lebanese Community Scotland, Scottish Afghan Society, Scottish Islamic Foundation, Scottish Friends of Palestine, Scottish CND , SACC and others 

Saturday 10^th January                                                                                            

Stop the Slaughter in Gaza - Inverness Demo                                             

1pm Sat 10 Jan, outside the Royal Bank of Scotland on the pedestrian precinct in Inverness. Called by Highland Justice Not War

Stop the War on Gaza - London Demo

Assemble 12.30pm Sat 10 Jan, Hyde Park, London
March to Israeli Embassy, London W8
 National Demo organised by Palestine Solidarity Campaign, Stop the War Coalition, British Muslim Initiative, Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament and many other organisations.

For further information on coach travel and for more events please click below.

Demonstrate to End Israel's Slaughter and Siege of Gaza

Saturday 3rd January 12 noon. 

Edinburgh: Foot of the Mound, Princes Street

Glasgow: Protest outside Lloyds TSB, St Vincent Street and then assemble for demo at Blytheswood Square, 12.30pm 

The Israeli massacre in Gaza continues and the number of dead and injured rises every day. (At the time of writing at least 393 Gazans dead and 1600 injured).  Protests have been called in both Edinburgh and Glasgow. Please come to either demo on Saturday at 12noon to protest against this barbarity, and to show solidarity with the suffering people of Palestine .  

Bring placards and banners. 

Called by
Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign www.scottishpsc.org and Stop the War Scotland

As Israel prepares to step up the slaughter in occupied Palestine, Solidarity joins the Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign (SPSC) in protesting this latest attack on the people of Gaza.

Mick Napier of SPSC called on socialists to get involved in the campaigns beyond the protests:

"While it is important that people turn out for the protests, the campaign for boycotts and sanctions needs to be stepped up.  The boycott of Eden Springs, action against Lloyds TSB, who are preventing humanitarian funds from helping Palestinians, are important, targetted campaigns that we should all get behind." 

Co-Convenor Tommy Sheridan said:

"Solidarity fully supports the SPSC and their fight for justice for Palestinians.  Israel's attacks are designed to break the collective will of the Palestinian people, on top of the blockade which has prevented food, water, medical supplies and power from reaching them.  The international community has allowed Israel to operate in this way for too long.  Get along to the protests, make your voice heard, our government is guilty by its complicity and we share that shame.  Stop the slaugher stop the starvation of the people of Gaza."

www.scottishpsc.org.uk

Members of GMB, UNISON and TGWU/Unite are taking part in industrial action over the Christmas and New Year holiday period.  From 4pm today (24 Dec) workers will refuse to provide emergency standby cover until Jan 5th.  The action was called after a breakdown in talks with Scottish Water over their refusal to increase this year's pay offer.

GMB organiser Richard Leonard said:

"We have met twice with senior Scottish Water directors in the last few days in a bid to avert this action.  But these directors appear to have taken a decision that they would rather see this important public service put at risk than negotiate a settlement."

Solidarity Co-Convenor, Rosemary Byrne, called on the Scottish Government to intervene:

"Alex Salmond likes to point the finger at New Labour while exercising the same wage controls on public sector workers here in Scotland.  I am quite sure that if it was Donald Trump looking to invest or a bank making a rare loss, the money would be found."