Unions stage mass rally outside Holyrood to warn ‘Scotland demands better’

Hundreds of trade union members have descended on the Scottish Parliament building to demand better pay and working conditions.

Despite heavy rain, the protesters, carrying banners and shouting “solidarity with the workers”, stood together and then marched from Johnstone Terrace to Holyrood in Edinburgh on Thursday.

The demonstration was organised by the Scottish Trades Union Congress (STUC) in response to the cost-of-living crisis, which First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has described as “a humanitarian emergency”.

Members of the GMB, the Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS), Unison Scotland and the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) were among those taking part in the demo.

MSPs were seen supporting the action, including Labour’s Pam Duncan-Glancy.

A fire engine was parked outside the Scottish Parliament building and used as a platform for various speakers from the unions, including Roz Foyer, general secretary of the STUC.

Speaking to the PA news agency, she said: “I don’t think solidarity across the trade union movement has ever been stronger, for decades.”

Standing in front of a united crowd, with their fists in the air, Ms Foyer added: “We’re here today with workers from right across Scotland who are involved in industrial action or about to take industrial action to defend their paying conditions and living standards.

“We’re here to send a strong message to the Scottish Government to say we deserve better, we demand a pay rise.

“It’s good the Scottish Government is recognising that this is a humanitarian emergency, but part of solving that emergency is making sure that workers get decent pay rises, and particularly given its responsibility for public sector workers, we want to see the Scottish Government taking action now and taking action decisively to make sure that we don’t have hundreds of thousands of people across Scotland facing poverty over this winter.”

Strikes by multiple unions have swept across the country over the last few months, including by GMB and Unite members.

Rubbish piled high in Edinburgh during the Fringe Festival last month, making headlines, as cleaning staff working for the city council went on strike over pay.

Last week teachers were told to reject an “insulting pay offer” and consider industrial action by Scotland’s largest teaching union, the EIS.

Ms Foyer added: “We’re fed up seeing the rich get richer while the poor pay crisis after crisis after crisis.

“Ordinary workers are waking up, we’re not believing anymore the lies we’re being told by the bosses and the politicians, we’re here to take action, we’re here to speak with one strong voice and to say enough is enough, we demand better.”

She said the union holds “little hope” in the new Liz Truss Government, adding: “The Scottish Government now has to step up to the plate, it has to show us what side it’s on, because by god we need it over the next couple of years.”

Colin Brown, executive council member for FBU Scotland, was among the crowd.

He said: “For too long workers have been underpaid, firefighters have been underpaid.

“We’ve had station closures, we’ve had to strip back our services, so we deserve to be paid properly to protect the public.

“We stepped up during the pandemic and we’re stepping up again, to defend ourselves.

“We’ve been told firefighting is a carcinogenic role, we have firefighters going to work every single day catching cancer during their duties defending the public.

“Firefighters that keep the country safe every single day deserve a pay rise.

“A 2% pay off is hardly a good offer for firefighters putting their lives on the line. It’s completely unacceptable.”

Mr Brown said the entire membership of FBU Scotland will return to the Scottish Parliament building on October 27 for fresh industrial action demanding better pay.