Pay freeze: 'It is time that some took a reality check'

IT is disappointing, but not surprising, that the initial response from the trade unions representing Edinburgh's 20,000 council workers to any suggestion of a pay freeze is the threat of industrial action. We predicted this in the very columns of this newspaper last week.

It is the same typical knee-jerk reaction that was displayed by the unions a few weeks previously when the council announced that it was seeking to make savings by investigating whether outside companies could be brought in to run some services more efficiently.

While accepting that unions exist for the very legitimate purpose of protecting the rights of their members, it is perhaps time that some took a reality check and looked around at the bigger picture in both the private and public sectors.

We are in the midst of a recession. Private companies are being forced to cut their cloth accordingly. People are being laid off, part-time working is being introduced, wages are being frozen or cut and final salary pension schemes closed. According to government figures, 630 Scots are losing their jobs every day.

Even the normally sheltered public sector is being squeezed. In Edinburgh, budgets are being cut and core services axed as the city faces a financial black-hole of £92 million over the next four years. Against this background, those elected to run the city would be failing in their duty were they not to examine all ways of making savings, and staff costs cannot be overlooked.

The unions have fully co-operated in negotiations over a separate modernisation of pay structures which will see the council's wages bill rise by 3 per cent. If they are willing to do this why can't they engage in agreeing a strategy which will help the council through its current cash crisis and may actually help preserve and protect the jobs of more of their members in the longer term? Issuing threats serves no purpose.

Walking tall
OF all the charity events that have gripped the public's imagination the MoonWalk, only in its fourth year in Edinburgh, continues to go from strength to strength.

The 10,000 walkers who braved the dark through Saturday night and Sunday morning to complete the 26-mile course are once again to be congratulated for their efforts.

The reasons for its popularity are twofold. Firstly, it raises money for breast cancer, which is a thoroughly deserving charity. But secondly, those who take part also aim to have fun – and that sets this event apart from many others.

So well done to the girls – and the 1,000 boys – who took part this weekend. We hope you smash that magic £3 million fundraising barrier for the first time.