STUC general secretary Roz Foyer issued a rallying cry today to save council services across the country that “stand on the brink of collapse” — and called on workers to show the lead. 

The trade union leader insisted that there was another way to save vital services than by drastic cuts as she addressed the final day of congress in Dundee, which has seen debates covering issues from workplace rights to education cuts; from Palestine to a just energy transition.

Outlining the scale of the challenges now facing working people, she said: “We remain in a cost-of-living crisis which represents the biggest fall in living standards since records began. 

 “We’re facing drastic cuts to public services – primarily caused by the UK government’s relentless austerity programme, but reinforced by Scottish government inaction. 

 “Our right to strike is being attacked by a tired, corrupt Tory government that is rotten to the core.

“Policy makers across the board appear unwilling to countenance the kind of public intervention needed, to ensure a just transition to net zero, and we are witnessing a genocide in Gaza which the UK government is complicit in as the world watches on. ”

Reiterating calls for the SNP-Green Scottish government to adopt STUC plans to raise £3.7 billion a year more to restore public services, Ms Foyer said: “I come with a warning: if we continue to see cuts to our public services then our local authorities will stand on the brink of collapse.

“We are already seeing councils barely able to function, with cut after cut being inflicted upon them by central  governments.
 
“There is another way,” she said, referring to the £4.4bn won for workers’ pay over the last two years.

Ms Foyer said workers were the vanguard of change, telling congress: “The last year has shown us there are vibrant rays of light in Scotland’s trade union movement.

“Our challenge now is to force open new windows of opportunity, and to continue to build a strong movement — one that will force the politicians to follow our ideas.   

“When we unite and fight hard, we can win: on pay, on conditions, on pensions, on workers’ rights, and on making Scotland a fairer, more equal country.  

“So keep going, keep struggling, keep pushing, keep organising, and building and growing our movement.  

“If we keep doing that, then where we lead — the politicians will follow.”