Scottish Labour Leader Iain Gray told the STUC that Labour and the Trade Union movement are united in the fight for Scottish jobs.

He accused the Tories and Lib Dems of bringing forward ideological cuts and pledged that the damage that the Tories did to Scotland’s mining industry, shipyards and steel industry would not be repeated on our 21st century jobs under Labour.
 
He acknowledge that the party has moved on since then and knows that opposition - no matter how forceful - isn’t enough. He will say that Labour must show a vision of a modern, successful Scotland in order to win back power. He focused on the importance of modern Scottish jobs like high-tech engineering, private sector exports and public sector jobs that deal with the challenges of Scotland’s aging population.
 
Mr Gray argued that Labour’s vision in this election – abolishing youth unemployment, a strategic plan to create jobs, guaranteeing apprenticeships and keeping university and college education free of fees – means that Labour has grasped the challenge of building a modern Scotland in tough times.
 
On the Tories, Iain Gray said:
 
"Now the Tories are back we must all fight for the things that really matter.

"We in the Labour movement have fought many battles before against those who understand nothing of our people’s lives, care little for their aspirations and respect their dreams still less.

"Friends, I believe we must fight them again."
 
On Labour’s history of standing up for working people, he said:
 
"The Labour Party was born out of the trade union movement and we are proud of our links with the representatives of working people."
 
On abolishing youth unemployment and Labour’s plans to build more jobs, Mr Gray acknowledged that it is an ambitious plan, but said it will be Labour's “number one priority” in Government:

"We cannot afford to have another ‘lost generation’ like we had in the 1980’s when I was a teacher in Edinburgh.

"But I want to go further. I will set in place the building blocks to create a quarter of a million jobs in the next decade.

"I will guarantee an apprenticeship opportunity for every qualified school leaver who seeks one.

"I will create 10,000 job opportunities for unemployed young people, replacing the future jobs fund which the Tories ended last month.  

"I will use our first class fund to drive innovation in our schools in excellence and in vocational skills.

"We will help people get the education they need at college and at university, with extended support for college students and no tuition fees in universities.

"We will knock down barriers to access rather than build them up."
 
On Labour’s vision for a modern, working, successful Scotland, he said:
 
"There is a moral imperative to what we do.

"Labour believes that a more equal society is a stronger society, that one man, woman or child in poverty is an offence against us all, that our government exists not merely to govern well but to make change for the better, to progress the lot of those who have least and to make this country live up to the potential of all of its people.

"This is my offer to you. A vision of a renewed Scotland in 2020 and a journey to get there I believe we can embark on together."

Full text of Iain Gray’s speech to STUC conference:

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Introduction
 
Can I first of all pay tribute to your commitment to this movement of ours.

I know that for over 30 years you have been active at every level of the PCS and its predecessor unions - I’m sure on some days it feels even longer than that!

I hope you have enjoyed the last year as STUC president and you have a successful Congress and not too many problematic delegates when chairing debates this week.

Having met you with my shadow cabinet and the STUC General Council a number of times over the last year – I know you’ll handle anything this week throws at you firmly but fairly.

I would also like to acknowledge the leading role you have played in the STUC’s Better Way Campaign since taking office last year.

Scottish Labour supports the STUC’s Better Way campaign - not just because it chimes with my vision, Scottish Labour’s vision for building a more prosperous and fairer Scotland - but because now the Tories are back we must all fight for the things that really matter.

Now the Tories are back

Congress, we in the labour movement have fought many battles before against those who understand nothing of our peoples’ lives, care little for their aspirations and respect their dreams still less. Friends I believe we must fight them again.

The Labour Party was born out of the trade union movement and we are proud of our links with the representatives of working people.

This labour movement is not an unrepresentative minority – we are the mainstream majority. And there are no better examples of that broad support for a better way than the recent marches organised by the STUC in Edinburgh and by your sister organisation the TUC in London.

I was proud to march alongside the thousands of people who took to the street last October in Edinburgh.

The young, the old, families and their friends.

And I also know that again - just a few short weeks ago - thousands of these self, same people from Scotland joined over half a million men, women and children from across the length and breadth of Britain to march for an alternative in London.

The message from both these marches was clear to David Cameron and Nick Clegg.

We won’t let you use the cover of a global financial crisis to carry out your pre-determined ideological cuts.

We know what that means.

The social pain caused by Tory economic theories runs through a thousand communities in Scotland. 

The scars of what they did to our mining industry run through every street, every house and every family of the mining towns in my constituency to this day. 

Unused shipyards lie empty with the silence of discontinued industry, craft and creation – to this day. 

And the ghost of a once great steel industry haunts the empty expanses of the Ravenscraig site – to this day.

But Congress, 30 years on – in this time - opposition isn’t enough. We have to offer a positive alternative to the avoidable, regressive and unfair policies that the Tories are steaming ahead with.

I believe the Scottish Labour Party and the Scottish trade union movement can build that alternative in Scotland and take our country on the path to a better way.

Just look at the progress we have made in the last four years in the Scottish Parliament.

Since I was elected leader in 2008 the Scottish Labour Party has worked tirelessly with the STUC and many of the affiliated unions to progress our shared objectives making Scotland a good place to live and work.

Our partnership with the trade union movement has also been a key factor in our efforts to hold the SNP to account in the Scottish Parliament.

Joint campaigning with STUC affiliates on issues as diverse as bus regulation, apprenticeships and violence against workers serving the public we - together - have asked serious questions of the Scottish government.

These campaigns have not only been fantastic opportunities for the Labour Group of MSPs and unions to work together on issues that effect your members and our communities -  they have provided us key policies that are now central to our offer to the people of Scotland in this election campaign.

The Offer

And what is it that we offer?

Congress, I want to create a new Scottish economy, built on high-tech engineering and modern green manufacturing.

I want a flourishing private sector exporting high quality products to growing markets abroad. I want excellent public services that deal with the challenges of our aging population.

I want a confident Scotland, comfortable with its place in the world, that cares for all its citizens, is proud of our past and hopeful for our future.

I want all of that for a reason, because there is a moral imperative to what we do.

Labour believes that a more equal society is a stronger society, that one man, woman or child in poverty is an offence against us all, that our government exists not merely to govern well but to make change for the better, to progress the lot of those who have least and to make this country live up to the potential of all of its people.

This is my offer to you. A vision of a renewed Scotland in 2020 and a journey to get there I believe we can embark on together.

The first step on that journey will be to abolish youth unemployment.

Ambitious yes, but I know that with the political will we can do it within the lifetime of the next parliament.

It will be our number one priority in government.

We cannot afford to have another “lost generation” like we had in the 1980’s when I was a teacher in Edinburgh.

But I want to go further. I will set in place the building blocks to create a quarter of a million jobs in the next decade.

I will guarantee an apprenticeship opportunity for every qualified school leaver who seeks one.

I will create 10,000 job opportunities for unemployed young people, replacing the future jobs fund which the Tories ended last month. 

I will use our first class fund to drive innovation in our schools in excellence and in vocational skills.

We will help people get the education they need at college and at university, with extended support for college students and no tuition fees in universities.

We will knock down barriers to access rather than build them up.

Jobs Tour

These and other measures we have already announced in our manifesto and they amount to a comprehensive investment in the future of Scotland’s young people. Let us not pretend for a minute that making it all happen will be easy.

But I tell you it is worth it because 10,000 people are on the dole now than the same time last year.

That, just isn’t good enough.

This morning in Dumfries I started my 3 day tour of Scotland to speak to people about their employment prospects.

I will listen to their concerns, speak to their aspirations and tell them that I will fight every day to ensure new job opportunities are available in every community, in every town and in every city.

Living Wage

Real jobs with proper conditions and decent pay rates.  If I am First Minister in May then another of our priorities will be to tackle poverty pay.

I will introduce a £7.15 living wage in the public sector to protect those at the lower end of the pay scale by pulling back on the salaries and bonuses of those at the top.

But we wont stop there we will work with the STUC and other living wage campaigners to ensure we can roll out a living wage across the private sector using the substantial levers of procurement we have at hand.

That’s a challenge - but poverty pay really matters to thousands of people in this country and that’s why it will be one of my main priorities in Government.  Indeed I will set up a fairness commission to advise on how policy must be shaped to drive equality and social justice through our country.

Partnership working

Congress, if we are to succeed we will need new ways of working together and collaborating between government and industry.

Congress will recall that the SNP tried to scrap the agriculture wages board but recoiled in the face of a vigorous campaign from my own union Unite and Labour MSPs.

What they failed to understand was the work of organisations such the AWB isn’t just about pay it’s about meeting the challenges that sector faces on issues such as skills, working practices and ultimately employment.

That is why I was pleased to learn that Unite have announced plans today to promote more employer and trade union joint working through sectoral bargaining and as First Minister I will explore the potential of such an initiative to attack pay inequality and protect workers in dispersed workforces.

But it’s not just at workplace level we need to see more collaboration we must ensure that employers and trade unions are involved in strategic decision making in government.

That is why I’ll scrap Alex Salmond's dining club - the council of economic advisers - and appoint an economic cabinet with trade union experience at the top table alongside business and others.

One of the first tasks of that Economic Cabinet will be to develop an industrial strategy which has manufacturing at its heart.

Lifelong learning

Congress, government’s partnership with trade unions on lifelong learning has shown that we can work together to make a real difference to thousands of working people in our country.

I’m sure you’ve heard all the numbers and don’t need me telling you about the fantastic levels of participation and re-engagement in trade union led learning across Scotland.

Behind every number though is a story and those stories are about hope and achievement.

People returning to work, getting a promotion, using a computer for the first time or just being able to read a book with their children.

The STUC should be very proud of its work over the last 10 years in this area.

That is why we will continue and expand support for the Scottish Union Learning Fund so we can look forward to another ten years of making a difference.

Potential of all it’s people

As I said earlier Scotland must live up to the potential of all of its people.

Congress, It is scandalous that it is our women workers who are suffering the most in this recession.

Far too many women are feeling the brunt of the job loses that are sweeping Scotland – while many young women leaving school are finding it impossible to get their foot on a career path.

If elected First Minister I will incentivise employers to take an increased number of women apprentices both in terms of those leaving school and those seeking work over the age of 19.

But we won’t stop there in striving to ensure that Scotland lives up to the potential of all its people.

We will ensure more effective use of procurement to secure the future of sheltered workshops by promoting Article 19 more effectively and across the public and by appointing a disabilities champion.

And for workers we will support measures contained in the protection of workers bill, review FAI legislation so they are conducted quicker and conclusions are acted upon and we’ll consult on New Years day working.

In local government we will ensure any council tax freeze is properly funded, put literacy teachers into our classrooms and we will introduce measures to support government, employee and trade union partnership at a strategic level in local government.

In health we will halve cancer waiting times so you see a specialist and get results within two weeks, we’ll end the postcode lottery for the care of the elderly and we’ll protect the jobs of our front line staff.

And in transport we’ll build a rail link to Glasgow Airport, we introduce better bus regulation to address market failure and ensure not for profit options can be considered for the ScotRail franchise.

Standing up for working people

Congress, if we have learnt anything over the last 12 months it is that only Scottish Labour and the trade union movement who will stand up for the working people of Scotland and look for that better way.

The STUC played a leading and defining role in the establishment of the Scottish Parliament.

The Scottish Parliament was created for times like these.

It is an institution that can be a powerful instrument of social progress but only with a government that will not be distracted from the job in hand.

I know what that job is.

It’s our new economy, built on high-tech high value high quality jobs

It’s a private sector exporting top quality products to growing markets abroad.

It’s excellent public services that deal with the challenges of our aging population.

And it’s a confident Scotland, comfortable with its place in the world, that cares for all its citizens, is proud of our past and hopeful for our future.

We can build that Scotland together.  We can make the historic task of this movement the heart of Scotland’s government again.  We can show that there is a better way.

And we can start on the 6th of May.

18 April 2011