Council workers say '˜no more' to cuts

Dozens of North Lanarkshire Council workers demonstrated outside Motherwell Civic Centre today calling on public services to be protected.
Hugh Gaffney makes a speechHugh Gaffney makes a speech
Hugh Gaffney makes a speech

The main source of their ire was the UK Government in Westminster who they believe wants to privatise all public services and the Scottish Government for slashing local authoirty budgets.

North Lanarkshire Council faces cutting around 1,000 jobs as it tries to make £88 million of savings over the next two years.

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North Lanarkshire Trade Union Council secretary Hugh Gaffney said: “This year is more important than any other year because we have nothing left to give.

“We can’t continue doing what we are doing with these cuts, we are now bleeding and heading for centralisation.

“We are going to end up losing local authorities and that is your voice, your jobs and your people.

“There is a dark cloud across North Lanarkshire, and I don’t just mean the weather, our councillors genuinely care about people they, were not elected to make cuts, and now is the time to say no more!”

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Workers also heard from representatives of the trade unions Unite, GMB and Unison.

15,000 letters calling on the council to protect services, 12,000 of which had been collected by home support workers, were presented to upper management.

More in next week’s Times & Speaker.