by Niall Christie

Scotland editor

SCOTLAND’S most senior trade unionist has urged parties to prioritise a jobs recovery, tackling inequality and supporting public services ahead of May’s Holyrood election.
 
STUC general secretary Roz Foyer said that candidates must commit to action on jobs, pay and care before the May 6 Scottish Parliament election, criticising “the suffocating and self-obsessed debate” around a second independence referendum. 

Her calls came after recent polling for the CWU union ahead of the Hartlepool by-election, also held on May 6 along with local elections in England, showed voters strongly backing public-sector pay rises and renationalisation. 

Ms Foyer, who launches the STUC’s election campaign today, said that the trade-union movement remains committed to self-determination — supporting a second referendum if that is the clear will of the Scottish people — but challenges all parties to address other voter priorities.