Health - Glasgow protest
WORKERS, MAY 2010 ISSUE
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| April saw nearly 3,000 march in a Unison-organised protest in Glasgow against cuts in education and services. |
April saw nearly 3,000 march in a Unison-organised protest in Glasgow. The union’s Scottish convenor described current cutbacks as “just the start of a sustained period of attacks on the public sector” and detailed reports from around the country that were adversely affecting people “from the cradle to the grave”. The action coincided with another Unison rally in London's Trafalgar Square.
Similar actions took place in Edinburgh and Aberdeen and the campaign will be raised at the Scottish Trades Union Congress in Dundee on April 20 when motions against cuts proposed by the EIS, Unison and Musicians’ Union will be debated. The next opportunity for public protest will come at the May Day rallies in Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Glasgow – where the traditional march will go ahead despite withdrawal of funding and practical aid by Glasgow City Council – a cut that at least teaches workers not to become dependent on “political masters” for handouts.
Each month finds a major rally or demonstration organised in Scotland's cities against present and looming cuts in education and services. March saw over 10,000 demand "Why Should Our Children Pay?" as they gathered in Glasgow from all parts of Scotland for a rally organised by the Educational Institute of Scotland with the support of several other trades unions.
EIS President Helen Connor got a standing ovation when she said how significant it was that “so many people – not only teachers and lecturers, but also parents and children, students, fellow public sector workers and trade union colleagues...have come from all parts of the country” and that they “will not accept our children’s education being damaged in order to pay for the publicly funded bailout of failed financial institutions”.