Commenting on the reaction to the publication of the latest public sector employment statistics STUC Assistant Secretary, Stephen Boyd, said:
“As certain as night follows day, publication of the latest public sector employment statistics has met with the by now obligatory reaction from the free-market fundamentalists at Scottish Tory HQ.
“The Scottish Tories deliberately overlook the inconvenient fact that the rise in public sector employment since 1999 has been accompanied by an even greater rise in private sector employment; over 100,000 new jobs since 1999. Employment rates are high by historical standards and economic growth is robust.
“To claim that there is ‘virtual unanimity amongst experts that this level of public sector activity is crowding out the private sector’ is a travesty of the truth. The Scottish Tories should be thoroughly ashamed of their abject inability to contribute to a constructive debate on the Scottish economy”.
ENDS
For further information contact
Stephen Boyd 0141 337 8100