STUC on Redundancy Framework

February 28th 2011

STUC on Redundancy Framework

February 28th 2011

Following a BBC report that ‘A deal guaranteeing no compulsory redundancies in the public sector in Scotland is understood to be close’ Scottish Trades Union Congress (STUC) General Secretary Grahame Smith said “The Scottish Government is guilty of jumping the gun and it is not helpful to have discussions of this nature played out in the media.

“The STUC has been open at all stages to reaching an understanding on no compulsory redundancies, but as things stand we are not “close” to agreement.

“It is far from clear that the Scottish Government and COSLA are on the same page, particularly in relation to their interpretation of what it means to maintain headcount and the extent to which no compulsory redundancies are actually guaranteed.

“An additional problem is that this objective does not match with the experience of union negotiators and our wider membership in how on-going negotiations are currently being approached by public sector employers. This makes it difficult to see how the trust needed to make any agreement work can be achieved.”

ENDS For further information contact Kevin Buchanan 0141 337 8100