NEWS RELEASE
"FOR PEACE AND JUSTICE IN 2004"
In his 2004 New Year Message, STUC General Secretary Bill Speirs said:
"2003 was a year of immense significance, at home and abroad.
In Scotland we saw the first upturn in trade union membership for 22 years. As a result, the STUC has increased its staffing, and the service we are able to offer Scotland's unions and the workers they represent.
I want to put on record my thanks, and the thanks of the General Council, to all those union activists who have worked to build membership, often in very difficult circumstances keep up the good work in 2004!
We had the second set of elections to the Scottish Parliament, elections that saw the return of a Labour/ Liberal Democrat coalition.
The elections were, of course, heavily analysed in the Scottish media - and mostly ignored in the UK media. The media were generally scathing about the elections, focusing on the turnout (generally around 50%) and the lack of "excitement". The UK media were, in as far as they covered the elections at all, patronising, portraying the Scottish (and Welsh) elected bodies as `glorified local councils' - which, apart from anything else, betrayed their toffee-nosed attitude towards local democracy.
But this media coverage reflected the talk on the street. That's obviously got its downside, reflecting a certain level of disengagement from politics.
But it's got another side. In Scotland (and Wales) we have seen the national question fiercely debated and politically taken forward almost (although not entirely) without violence, in stark contrast to how things have gone in other parts of the world.
I will never forget being in Bosnia, standing on Tuzla airfield trying not to make eye-contact with the women, children and old men (there were no young men) who had escaped from Srebrenica the week before.
Too many times I have engaged in discussions with victims of the British-Irish conflict.
That is why, for me, it is ironic that people should find post-devolution politics dull or boring. It would, of course, be much more lively were it to involve conflict, shootings and bombings. It doesn't, and that is a very, very good thing but there is definitely a big challenge before us, to get the mass of the
Scottish people engaged in the political process. The STUC in 2004 will be stepping up our efforts to strengthen the voice of organized workers, and get that voice listened to.
Because workers organized in trade unions are vital to the delivery of peace and justice, in Scotland, in Britain and throughout the world and nowhere more so than in Iraq.
Saddam Hussein was and is a scumbag. He and those around him betrayed and undermined the concept of people enjoying their rights and lives in a secular, socialist, egalitarian, democratic state. But they did it in league with moneymakers beyond the borders of Iraq, and those moneymakers (including Donald Rumsfeld, who has a history of bowing and scraping to Saddam) are still looking to make money out of this land, the cradle of civilization.
That desire to make money out of Iraq is surely what lies behind the recent brutal attack by US armoured cars on the offices of the Iraqi Federation of Trade Unions in Baghdad.
The IFTU is trying to rebuild workers' organization in every part of Iraq, in the context of past years of confusion, corruption and compromise, and the present situation of chaos, bitterness, occupation and the imminent seizure of the economy by the big businesses that fund George W Bush.
The STUC has built contacts with the Iraqi trade union movement, met its leadership, and pledged support for it in its efforts to secure social and economic justice for the workers of Iraq. Which is why we have raised with the Foreign Secretary the need for a full explanation from Washington as to why the US Army attacked the Union Headquarters, arrested 8 union leaders, ripped down banners and (anti-terrorism) posters, smashed the windows and - maybe most significant of all - painted over the name plates of the unions on the front of the building.
As we reach the twentieth anniversary of the 1984/5 miners' strike, that attitude to trade unionism is one that Scottish workers easily recognise.
But in the midst of international mayhem, and conflict in the UK Parliament over issues such as top-up fees, there have been really positive developments coming out of discussions between the STUC and the Scottish Executive for example, the steps being taken to protect workers in emergency situations from violent attacks.
From the earliest days of this proposal, the Executive engaged with the Scottish trade union movement in the context of the STUC/Scottish Executive Memorandum of Understanding signed in 2002. This has led to an extension of the definition of "emergency worker", and an agreement to discuss further with the unions the possibility and practicalities of extending it further to cover all workers dealing with an emergency situation - including hospital, transport, and other public service workers.
2004 will bring many challenges, as usual. We need to keep campaigning for justice. Justice for those being exploited in the workplace; for those whose health has been wrecked by poor health and safety standards; for those
whose pensions are being stolen and for those who have fled to our land, seeking asylum from oppression and conflict.
From Caithness to Colombia, Iraq to India. Justice and peace, peace and justice they are inseparable, and must be at the heart of trade union activity in 2004.
Happy New Year, and keep on organizing!"