TUC general secretary PAUL NOWAK speaks to the Morning Star’s Berny Torre about the increasing frustration the trade union movement feels at a government that promised change, but has been too slow to bring it about

DURING the general election campaign, First Minister John Swinney described the SNP as having a “left-of-centre manifesto” and said a partnership with trade unions would be at the “core” of the Scottish government’s approach.
To say education unions were bemused by this assertion is an understatement. As one speaker at one of their rallies outside the Scottish Parliament in June put it: “There’s nothing left wing about waving through cuts to pay and cuts to public education for the working class.”
College lecturers have rightly had enough. At time of writing, the Educational Institute of Scotland/Further Education Lecturers Association (EIS-Fela) — is reballoting members to seek a mandate for further strike action over pay.



