A warm welcome to
today's conference.
I am
delighted that you are here today, over 200 people from Scotland’s trade unions, voluntary sector
organisations, NGOs, faith organisations, from academia and from government and other political institutions.
Today’s conference
is, of course, being held at a
remarkable time in Scotland’s history; less than a month since the referendum.
While
we are still trying to assess the short, medium and longer term implications of
the referendum for all of us and the organisations we represent, the one thing that can be said
with complete certainty is that the referendum was a triumph for democracy, and something of which the country can be proud.
The phenomenal turnout on the
day came on the back of months of discussion and debate in workplaces, in
communities and within families.
There was a thirst for
information and engagement the like of which I have not previously witnessed.
And I am immensely proud of
the role the STUC and the trade union movement in Scotland played through our
‘A Just Scotland’ initiative in responding to that demand.
The long and – largely - civilised campaign resulted in a startling reinvigoration
of Scottish politics.
The priority now is to ensure that a political culture, in the process of being radically transformed, starts to spawn new and effective policy solutions to Scotland’s deeply embedded economic and social problems.
So the purpose of today’s conference is:
To provide a space where new and effective policy
interventions to tackle inequality can start to be debated and developed;
To enhance our thinking about what package of new powers
might best increase the capacity of the Scottish parliament and government to deliver better outcomes for our economy and
society; and to
To be constructively provocative!
The referendum debate was an enriching, empowering
experience for the country as a whole, but – frankly speaking - too much ‘debate’ (if i
can call it that) during the
campaign was either side playing to its own echo chamber.
Today’s conference has been expressly designed to challenge
preconceptions and stimulate original thought.
The excellent programme of speakers in the
plenary sessions, in the workshops and in the closing panel session, was not designed to flatter the prejudices of the audience!
This will become clear throughout the day. I expect this
approach to both provoke robust debate and lead to better outcomes.
Economic context
The
economic context in which we are having this debate remains challenging to say
the least.
Scotland’s recovery from the financial crisis, the 2008/09 recession and the prolonged period of stagnation
which followed, continues to be tortuously slow.
Although headline growth and employment figures suggest the
recovery has gained momentum many of you here today will be aware of the reality which lies behind often misleading headline statistics:
The unprecedented collapse of real wages since 2009;
The stubbornly high levels of youth unemployment;
The historically high levels of underemployment;
The failure of full-time jobs to grow with the recovery of
headline employment;
The rise of low wage, low hours 'forced'
self-employment; and
The increasingly widespread use of zero hour and
other forms of insecure employment
contracts.
Scotland might be generating new jobs but many are low
quality – too many Scottish citizens, in and out of work, are not sharing in the recovery.
This is hardly surprising when the UK coalition government
embarked on a programme of austerity manifestly designed to undermine the
living standards and security of a substantial proportion of the
population including society’s most vulnerable.
In the face of a government aggressively asserting the
opposite, the STUC argued in 2010 that austerity was avoidable, unnecessary and
regressive – and so it has turned out.
The bedroom tax, real terms cuts in benefits and wages,
deep job cuts for those providing the essential public services on which the
poorest rely most…i could go on.
And isn’t it revealing that the FT reported only yesterday that UK
tax revenues – particularly from income tax - are coming in way below OBR
forecast. The new model the coalition is trying so hard to embed is simply
unsustainable.
If a better and fairer Scotland is to emerge at the end of the
process of constitutional change that is currently focusing on enhanced
devolution, a new model of economic and social development will have to evolve – and quickly.
Whilst macroeconomic issues such as currency and fiscal
sustainability dominated the referendum campaign, it was surprising how little economic development issues
featured - dominant orthodoxy was generally not challenged by either side of the
debate.
The Scottish government’s lengthy papers on re-industrialisation
and economic policy choices are helpful as far as they go.
But nothing like a distinct model of Scottish economic
development ever looked like emerging from the referendum debate.
In that
context I'm very much looking forward to Professor Williams' presentation this morning
that will point the way towards a new ‘foundational
economy’ approach
for Scotland.
Policy solutions such as basic income, hitherto regarded as too radical or controversial, must be properly assessed; which Frances Coppola’s contribution this afternoon will undoubtedly help us do.
Despite
the best efforts of the STUC and others in this room, some of the factors
which exert a profound influence on the shape and nature of Scotland’s development were almost completely absent from the
referendum debate or covered in ways that were hardly serious.
These include:
How currently deeply ingrained asymmetries of economic
power might be rebalanced through extending collective bargaining underpinned by
enhanced trade union rights;
what is the purpose of tax and what quantities of revenue
must be generated to support a better and fairer society?
And how should the financial sector be structured and regulated?
We were constantly told that tackling inequality was a priority but the policies discussed during the campaign fell far short of a
serious, coherent policy programme.
The policy interventions required to tackle inequality are many and varied.
But let us be under no illusion that a central plank of any
strategy to tackle inequality is the
presence in the workplace of strong, and effective free trade unions.
It is no coincidence that the
decline in real wages as a share of our national income, the growth in zero
hour contacts and forced self employment and other forms of insecure work
have occurred at the same time as unions
have been under attack politically and industrially.
And the power imbalance we see
in our economy will not be reversed until the legitimate role of unions in the
workplace and in wider society is recognised and an environment exists where
unions can function effectively and responsibly in the interests of working
people, their families, and wider society.
The Working Together
review
Earlier this year, at the
suggestion of the STUC, the Scottish government established the working
together review chaired by Jim Mather.
This review is potentially the
most important piece of work I've been involved in in my near 30 years at the STUC
and 35 years as an active trade unionist.
It is a piece of work that
stands in sharp contrast to the Carr review which was launched by the UK
government in the wake of the Ineos dispute to
prepare the ground for
legislation limiting the right to strike in key utilities and public services depending on the outcome of the 2015 UK general election.
In August, in the week that the Carr review bit the dust because neither
unions nor employers provided it with evidence and Ministers undermined it by
making statements prejudging its outcome, the report
of the Working Together review was published in Scotland.
The report gets behind the headlines and shines a light on what unions
do at a strategic level with government; the role we play as part of civil society; what we contribute at a sectoral level; and of
course the impact we have in the workplace through our workplace reps.
I would encourage you to read the report and its
recommendations.
I believe that if implemented the
recommendations have the potential to completely change the culture of industrial
relations in Scotland, to
the benefit of workers, their companies and organisations, and the Scottish economy.
Enhanced devolution
The
recommendations of the working together review were set in the context of our
existing devolved constitutional settlement.
Following
the referendum that debate has moved on, perhaps more rapidly than many of us
anticipated.
Earlier this year the STUC published proposals for enhanced
devolution.
These included:
the devolution of income tax including the ability to vary
all rates and bands;
more
extensive borrowing powers;
the
devolution of employment
services and active labour market policy;
the
devolution of health and safety regulation and of
employment tribunals; and
increased flexibility over immigration policy.
As part of our proposals we also made the case for radical reform of local taxation.
Of
course, we published our
views on enhanced devolution in March, six months before the referendum.
A lot of water has passed
under the bridge since then and it would be odd if we did not recognise and
respond to the changed and changing political context post the referendum.
Constitutional change is about
powers but it is also about purpose.
For us and for a vast number
of those who voted yes and no, that purpose is a fairer more socially just Scotland.
To date, the focus on enhanced
devolution has been on fiscal and welfare powers. However, important levers are
also those over wages and the labour market.
In formulating our response to
the Smith Commission we are looking again at the case for the devolution of
powers over employment and trade union law, including union recognition and
collective bargaining and other forms of workplace democracy, enabling interventions in the labour market and the creation of
jobs to be matched to positive employment practice and action on wages.
Helping shape the passion and enthusiasm which has
manifested itself during and post the referendum into policy prescriptions
which are relevant to Scotland’s circumstances is a significant challenge.
It is important to be as ambitious as possible for the people who’ve suffered most over recent years.
And it’s essential that the environmental challenge isn’t relegated to an afterthought.
But the constraints imposed by being an open economy on the
periphery of Europe can’t be ignored.
Policies must be radical but effective; progressive but
coherent. A new approach must continue to engage those who’ve stood outside the political process for too long.
The STUC looks forward to working with the range of
organisations represented in this room to make sure this happens and to
take forward the thought and discussion that will take place at today's
conference.
Thank
you for coming today and I look forward to an interesting, challenging,
provocative and ultimately productive day.
