Friday 24 April 2015

STUC Congress 2015 - Branch activists again take key role at STUC

Branch Chair, Kate Ramsden and Assistant Branch Secretary, Susan Kennedy were both elected as UNISON delegates to this year's STUC Congress in Ayr from 20-22 April and both spoke in the debate.


All reports of UNISON speakers in the debate can be seen on the UNISON Scotland website and blog.


Susan Kennedy
House building and living rent to fix housing crisis
UNISON Scotland’s Susan Kennedy, backing the USDAW, UCATT and North Lanarkshire and Aberdeen trade union councils’ motion, said Scotland has a ‘housing crisis’.

Susan also spoke on the importance of additional support for learning in tackling disadvantage and the report will be made available as soon as possible.




Kate Ramsden
End 1 in 5 children living in poverty in Scotland
UNISON Scotland's Kate Ramsden supporting an USDAW motion said that that the STUC had highlighted as far back as 2010 that cuts and austerity would lead to a rise in the numbers of children in poverty.

Kate, in her role as member of the Scottish Communications and Campaigns Committee, also wrote many on the STUC reports on the UNISON Scotland website and blog.

Tuesday 7 April 2015

Join us at the Aberdeen May Day March and Rally on Sat 2nd May 2015 - Austerity doesn't work

Celebrate International Workers Day on Saturday 2nd May. Join with us in a family friendly march down Union Street to demonstrate your opposition to austerity, which the past five years have shown just doesn't work for ordinary people or for the economy. Only the already very rich are doing well.

The 2015 May Day March and Rally will gather at Rubislaw Terrace Gardens, Aberdeen at 10.30am.

Organised by Aberdeen Trades Union Council (ATUC), it will march off at 11.00am down the full length of Union Street, to a Rally in the Castlegate at 12 noon where there will be a variety of speakers including trade unions, politicians and community activists.

Sunday 5 April 2015

Come along to the Workers' Memorial Day Tuesday 28 April 2015 1pm

This year's Workers Memorial Day Service, will be held at 1pm (gather from 12.30pm) at Persley Gardens, Persley, Aberdeen. All are welcome to attend.

What is Workers Memorial Day?
International Workers Memorial Day (IWMD) takes place all over the world on 28 April each year.

The purpose of IWMD is two-fold. Firstly it is about not forgetting those who have died, been injured, or made ill by their work. Secondly it is about ensuring that tragic loss and suffering are used to reinvigorate the campaign for healthier and safer work.

The campaign slogan is "Remember the dead, fight for the living."

The number of people killed at work in Scotland has been rising in recent years, according to official figures. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) said 20 workers lost their lives north of the border in 2014-15. Although this has been fairly consistent over the past few years it remains 20 too many.
In this time of austerity, it is ever more important to protect our Health and Safety legislation, which is constantly under attack.

The Service will last for approx 30mins.