scottish blog

Safer betting shops

23.03.09 - John Park MSP

I have spent the best part of the last two years working with the trade union Community highlighting some of the very real abuse being faced by workers in betting shops across the UK.

These are workers who could potentially face the full monty of abuse from verbal, to physical, spitting to sawn-off shotguns. I’ve heard stories about workers emptying games machines of thousands of pounds - on their own - and being threatened with disciplinary action if they locked the bookmakers shop for protection while carrying out the task.

A campaign to highlight the Community campaign in the Scottish Parliament attracted huge cross party support and hopefully played a part in focussing the industry on the importance of tackling this problem.

The hands-on approach from the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions James Purnell who invited unions, local authorities and business representatives to a round table meeting in November has led to greater and more constructive dialogue from all sides of industry. A small working group was developed from this first meeting to look at how guidelines could be developed - initially in London - to help the industry deal with the issues more effectively. This group reported back to the Secretary of State this week and it was agreed in principle that a stakeholder forum including Community and the ABB would be set up to find ways of improving betting shop safety.

When I first got involved in the campaign I detected a natural resistance from employers to engage with the union because they felt the campaign was about trade union recognition rather than health and safety. These two issues have to be separated because there is a difference between recognising the legitimacy of the union to raise these issues and union recognition in terms of collective bargaining.

It’s early days but if anyone had suggested a year ago that all sides of the industry would have agreed a way of working together I would have been very sceptical. Community are now at the table with industry and that can only be positive for workers in the sector and in my view, improve safety. There are so many lessons to learnt from other sectors - particularly transport - where joint working has been very effective.

Some of the language used by the industry about Community did concern me and throws up a wider question of how trade unions can be viewed in this country. Whereas we believe the trade unions are a legitimate and integral part of our democracy - many still view them not as social partners - but as an inconvenience. For me that is a sharp reminder of what life would be like under a Conservative Government - where that view would be promoted, tolerated and very popular with some

And that is why I believe we have to make a really strong case to directly to trade union members as we approach the general election. If anyone thinks that life under a Tory Government will somehow be better for trade union members, they are wrong.

John Park is a Member of the Scottish Parliament and was elected as a regional list member for Mid Scotland and Fife in 2007. He is Shadow Minister for Economy and Skills. He has been an active trade unionist and a member of Unite the Union since he started working in 1989 and a Labour Party member for the majority of his working life.

 

SNP = Tory 

25.02.09 - John Park MSP 

Those of us dealing with the day to day issues in the labour and trade union movement will appreciate most sharply the need to have real leadership in response to the current economic climate. Sadly, in Scotland, we are witnessing a government - who hoped for an easy four years of populist policies putting them on the front foot for an independence referendum - now faced with a global economic situation asking questions of them which they are failing to answer.

An inability to step up to the responsibilities of devolved government has led to rigid adherence to obviously failing policies, until they have to be jettisoned at the last minute, blaming big bad Westminster for taking their toys away. And despite the obvious flaws in their manifesto, I must admit I’ve been quite taken aback by the approach taken by the SNP on economic matters since their election in 2007.

They have been unashamedly right-wing - focussing on tax cuts, but neglecting to explain the implications of having less in the pot and pointing the finger of blame at anyone and everyone. The challenge for the trade union movement in Scotland won’t just be how to sustain employment in the private sector but how to fight job loses in the public sector because of spending cuts.

It is surprising that, as a self-styled social democratic party, barely a week goes by in the Scottish Parliament without the SNP talking about the “burden” of taxation. A one-size fits all cut in business rates was brought forward, with the support of the Tories, with no measures to monitor its success or to ensure it would lead to job related investment by employers. Warm words about skills and training have failed to be matched by actions until forced by Labour to bring back a failed budget with an extra 7,800 apprenticeships. The have singularly failed to understand the potential of Scotland is not our oil or where our borders lie but in our people - not a surprise given you can count the number of SNP MSPs who are active trade union members on one hand.

Most startlingly, given the importance of the financial sector to the Scottish economy and jobs market, they have failed to say what an independent Scotland would have done (or would do) differently on the banks - particularly as Salmond was a major cheerleader for financial services de-regulation before the May 2007 election.

The situation with the SNP in power in Scotland may be bleak for trade unionists committed to saving jobs and improving the economy - but it could get worse. You would think the so-called ‘social democrats’ in the SNP would be wary of a Conservative government at Westminster. Think again. Be in no doubt, the SNP want the Conservatives to win the next election because they don’t care about paid holidays, union recognition or the minimum wage - all they care about is independence, and they think a Tory government at UK level would accelerate that possibility.

Labour MSPs, with the support of unions such as my own, Unite, are taking up the fight by turning trade union campaigns for expanding apprenticeships and bus regulation into members’ bills in the Scottish Parliament. This is putting the SNP on the back foot and filling a huge policy void in Scotland at the same time. Opposition isn’t easy in Scotland, but we’re optimistic and recognise the only way to fight the forthcoming general election, a likely referendum on independence and the 2011 Scottish Parliament elections is through joint Labour Party and trade union campaigns.

John Park is a Member of the Scottish Parliament and was elected as a regional list member for Mid Scotland and Fife in 2007. He is Shadow Minister for Economy and Skills. He has been an active trade unionist and a member of Unite the Union since he started working in 1989 and a Labour Party member for the majority of his working life.