UNISON at STUC Congress 2018

STUC Aviemore 2017
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#stuc2018 The 121st STUC Congress gets under way on Monday 16 April and the 300 delegates gathering in Aviemore will be trying to ensure that the rights of working people are put at the centre of the political  agenda.

UNISON has motions on Public Sector Pay, Pension Funds and Climate Change, and Scottish Energy Policy.

Our pay motion will form part of Composite B, first up on Monday morning, and UNISON will be calling for a new long term pay policy for all public sector workers, reflecting the rising cost of living and addressing the cumulative pay losses suffered by public sector workers over the last decade.

The policy should be underpinned by a minimum wage of £10 per hour and a commitment by the UK and Scottish Governments to fully fund such a pay policy in their budget allocations. Brenda Aitchison is down to be the UNISON speaker.

Composite G on Public Services follows with UNISON Scotland’s Mark Ferguson moving our amendment calling for the Scottish government to use its “full suite of tax and borrowing” to avoid local government cuts, buy back PPP/PFI contracts, where doing so makes financial sense, and ensure everyone employed on public service contracts is paid at least the Scottish Living Wage.

On Tuesday morning Congress will debate UNISON Scotland’s call for Scottish pension funds to investigate the long-term risks of investing in fossil fuels, and promote divestment, and alternative reinvestment in the sustainable economy.

Stephen Smellie will be moving the motion and will argue that making pensions dependent on long term profits from an industry threatening a safe planetary future is not a sensible investment strategy. When pension funds are exposed to fossil fuels, they’re relying on stranded assets for the safe retirement of their workers.

This will be followed by Composite D which includes UNISON Scotland’s call for an energy strategy that takes a “whole system approach”, with a stable transition to a more local and decarbonised energy system.

Congress will debate UNISON Scotland’s eight-point plan for a Scottish energy policy including the creation of a government owned energy company as one step towards the extension of public ownership throughout the system. That should also include co-operatives and municipal energy companies.

UNISON Scotland will also have amendments to motions on Additional Support Needs, Funding Education (and Poverty Attainment Gap) and Unite’s Public Services motion.

Follow the daily reports which will cover most of the UNISON speakers in the major debates.

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