Composite C (covering Amended Motions 4 & 10)
Industrial Strategy & Procurement Policy
“That this Congress recognises the importance of manufacturing to the Scottish economy.
“The UK’s manufacturing sector accounts for less than a tenth of economic output but is a crucial driver of research and development and productivity, with positive spillover effects into other sectors.
“Yet since the advent of the Scottish Parliament, Scotland has lost more than 130,000 manufacturing jobs. The closure of Grangemouth refinery and Mossmorran Ethylene Plant further erodes Scotland’s industrial base.
“The geological decline of the North Sea is also leading to significant job losses in oil and gas, and there is no coherent plan to transition workers into manufacturing jobs in areas like green energy.
“Meanwhile, nuclear building projects in England, at Hinkley Point and Sizewell, are contributing an estimated £400 million to Scotland’s economy annually, supporting Scots jobs and supply chains, while the Scottish Government refuses to review its opposition to Small Modular Reactors or investigate their potential benefits.
“Congress also recognises the importance of Scotland’s ‘Everyday Economy’. Sectors such as retail, tourism and food manufacturing provide high numbers of Scottish jobs, these sectors also typically have the most to gain from the fair work agenda.
“Congress regrets that the Scottish Government Green Industrial Strategy is premised on handcrafting Scotland’s natural resources for private investors and multinational companies. While the UK Government Industrial Strategy has positive elements, it also over-relies on private capital.
“Scottish and wider UK procurement policy fails to consider the many advantages of home-made products produced by Scottish industry. Contracts are often awarded without advertising, overlooking Scottish producers and workers.
“Procurement policy fails to be aligned with Scottish industries’ transition to green and low carbon production, leaving it uncompetitive and unsustainable against cheap high carbon imports. Procurement policy should reflect the fact that Scottish industries produce products in a greener way than many international competitors in industries, such as steel, at a higher cost. Scottish industry should not be penalised for taking the necessary steps to protect our planet.
“Lower electricity costs and higher levels of government support in Germany and France mean that our European neighbours have a competitive advantage in steel procurement compared to the UK. Congress believes that we need national and devolved government action to level the playing field and align Scottish and UK procurement policy to better reflect the reality of the landscape that Scottish industry faces.
“Scottish public money should, where possible, be spent on Scottish made products when procuring for projects.
“Congress congratulates Unite and GMB members at Alexander Dennis that fought and won Scottish Government support for a short-term furlough scheme. Alongside the measures below, this should form the basis of a genuine Industrial Strategy.
“Congress calls on General Council to lobby the Scottish Government to create a new Industrial Strategy based on:
- public investment in new and key manufacturing;
- clear support for the everyday economy to drive up workplace terms and conditions;
- stricter conditions on enterprise funding to ensure companies create good quality jobs here in Scotland, which include trade union recognition and adherence to trade union negotiated rates of pay and conditions;
- smarter use of public funds and procurement, including energy efficiency, and rail and bus funding, to support domestic manufacturing;
- strategic investment in education and skills development;
- changes to the remit of public sector agencies, e.g. Scottish Enterprise, so they can support trade union-led efforts to future-proof manufacturing sites;
- public ownership of key parts of our industrial base, such as energy;
- collective bargaining in new industrial sectors, sites, and companies including through developing a plan for extending mandatory sectoral bargaining across the Scottish economy; and
- a plan for significant public investment in publicly owned rail and transport infrastructure and new rail connections to drive wider productivity growth in our economy.
“Congress further calls on the STUC General Council to lobby the Scottish and UK Governments to:
- mandate or incentivise the use of Scottish made products like steel, where possible, for energy, defence, and related infrastructure projects;
- ensure the social value of any contract is fully weighted in the procurement process to detail its wider economic, social, and environmental benefits and ensure those potential benefits, including stronger local economies, improved training opportunities, and reinforced social cohesion, are properly taken into account during the tendering process;
- make sustainability and carbon levels used in production part of the consideration of procurement policy; and
- make it a requirement in contracts to explore the availability of Scottish and UK made products, such as steel, further down the supply chain.”
Mover: STUC General Council
Seconder: Community
Supporters: Unite
GMB Scotland
Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers (USDAW)
National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT)
RSS