By stewartb Statements today from Unison’s leadership on the strike by its members employed by local authorities in Scotland are telling. UNISON Scotland’s head of local government Johanna Baxter is quoted saying: ‘Cosla and the Scottish government need to give local government workers a decent wage rise, fund any increase properly and commit to implementing a minimum underpinning rate of pay of £15 per hour for all local government workers.” The implication here seems clear. Unison’s leadership in this strike is motivated by three different things: (i) to obtain a wage rise for members – the normal, legitimate thing, along … Continue reading Unison Scotland and Labour – Andy McDonald MP was sacked for refusing to argue against a national minimum wage of £15

Lib Dem leader, Alec Cole-Hamilton reveals yesterday that like Boris, he too has the wrong skill set to lead even the smallest of projects. Was being different from Boris during the pandemic a justifiable aim? If it meant saving lives? Yes, see this from May 2020 only months after Nicola Sturgeon’s government took over responsibility for pandemic management: 19 days ago, the FT based on extrapolated ONS figures, estimated the true total of coronavirus deaths in the UK to be ‘as many as 41 000. At that time the UK Government figure was 17 337 but did not include deaths … Continue reading To be different from Boris was a justifiable desire for Nicola

Ever since I saw the Mull & Iona councillor with an accent from the deep south, telling a Tory-run Holyrood committee to look abroad for advice on how to run a ferry service because Scotland has ‘one of the worst in the world‘, I’ve been doing just that for him. Washington State Ferries (WSF) around Seattle and British Columbia Ferries around Vancouver are the most similar to CalMac in terms of scale, government ownership and climate, though in the latter case, more southerly and more moderate. Both are demonstrably in far worse condition than CalMac, with older boats breaking down … Continue reading Mull & Iona councillor urged to visit Seattle to see a real ‘ferry f****p!’

Readers will already know of the links between the Unison Scotland trade union branch and Scottish Labour. Today BBC Scotland has Scottish school strikes go ahead in pay dispute broadcast and ‘in full’ here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-67273011 The above makes no mention of the Labour links but, more indicative of their failure to properly inform and of their underlying agenda, does not explain the offer, does not tell us that Unison in England have accepted the same offer nor do they remind us that Unite and the GMB have also accepted it, making this a political strike, exploiting Unison members in the … Continue reading Hiding the truth on the Unison (only Scotland) political strike

From the National Statistics for Scotland today but ignored widely in the media: There has been a reduction in homicides over the last 20 years across all age groups under 65. The biggest reduction has been amongst victims aged 16-24. In the five years period from 2003-04 to 2007-08 there were 126 victims in this age range. This dropped to 24 across the latest five years period from 2018-19 to 202223. In Scotland, all four age groups older than 24, other than the over 65s, are more likely to murder. This has all changed since 2007. In sharp contrast, in … Continue reading Huge, 81%, reduction in homicide rates among the young since 2007 only in Scotland

From the National Statistics for Scotland today: In 2022-23, 52 victims of homicide were recorded, 2% (or one victim) fewer than the 53 victims recorded in 2021-22 (Table 1). This is the lowest number of recorded homicide victims since comparable records began in 1976. From the Office of National Statistics for year ending March 2022 (latest release): Homicide returned to pre-coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic levels, with 696 victims in the latest year; this is 130 more (a 23% increase) than the year ending March 2021 when government restrictions meant there was less social contact. From the House of Commons Library in … Continue reading ‘No mean country’ after 16 years of SNP-rule as Scotland’s murder rate continues to fall and remains significantly lower than that elsewhere in the UK

From the Seattle Times yesterday: Washington’s ferry system hit a low point over the weekend as yet another boat had to be taken out of service, leaving the fleet with just 14 working ships out of 21 owned by the state. As Monday arrived, agency officials continued their struggle to piece together workable schedules on every route, a challenge they’ll likely wrestle with through the week and beyond. There are no shortcuts to fixing the fleet. Simply, the state needs more boats. Just nine of the 21 are in good shape, although the Chimacum was built in 2017, proof that … Continue reading Anger as 7 out of 21 state-owned ferries out of service and no new builds until 2027 or later…in Washington State