ATUC stands in solidarity with BrewDog workers demanding transparency

Aberdeen Trades Union Council delegates joined Unite Hospitality workers as they staged a demonstration at the BrewDog Bar at Union Square in Aberdeen city centre on Wednesday 25th February.

The demonstration was called in response to the treatment of workers before and during the ongoing sale process at BrewDog, amid reports that the company is being prepared for sale to the highest bidder.

The dispute centres on the lack of consultation, the abandonment of the real living wage, widespread bar closures, and the slashing of contracted hours — all of which have left workers paying the price for decisions taken at the top of the business.

Recent press coverage has confirmed that BrewDog is exploring options for the future of the company, including a potential sale, following years of cuts, closures and worker uncertainty.

ATUC joins tenant’s union, charities and community groups call for Aberdeen City Council to fill 1,816 empty council homes.

Aberdeen Trades Union Council joined Living Rent Aberdeen as they delivered their open letter, signed by key organisations across Aberdeen, calling on Aberdeen City Council to urgently bring the 1,816 empty council homes back into public use.

The open letter highlights that this year, Aberdeen’s homeless services have been declared as at ‘a heightened risk of systemic failure’ by the Scottish Housing Regulator and the council is ‘routinely breaking the law’ in failing to meet housing needs.

Living Rent Aberdeen say that families with children sit trapped in unsuitable temporary accommodation while the council’s inability to fill lettable empty homes has cost £12.5m in the last 6 years. 

ATUC solidarity actions with comrades in struggle

Aberdeen Trades Union Council delegates were proud to stand in solidarity with trade union and community actions over recent weeks. 

On 12 June, delegates were proud to take ATUC's banner to Edinburgh to support our UNISON Enable colleagues in their fight for decent wages for Enable workers who support some of our most vulnerable citizens. 

We marched down the Royal Mile with UNISON members and supporters to Holyrood to demand the Scottish Government ensures Enable can afford to pay their skilled staff properly for their essential work.

Kate Ramsden, Joint Secretary said: "This dispute highlights the complete disconnect between the Scottish Government’s rhetoric and the situation in care on the ground.

Land Day demo calls on HSBC to divest from Caterpillar

Aberdeen Trades Union Council delegates joined Aberdeen Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign to commemorate Land Day with a demo outside HSBC.

This aimed to alert customers to HSBC's complicity in Israeli war crimes.

HSBC is a major shareholder in Caterpillar, a company that sells bulldozers to Israeli military, which then uses the equipment to destroy Palestinian homes and infrastructure.

Tell HSBC to divest from Caterpillar!

 Read more at War on Want

Find out more about Land Day

Save our services in Aberdeen - say no to cuts!

Aberdeen Trade Union Council, along with Aberdeen Anarchist Group and Aberdeen Social Centre, has organised a lobby of the Aberdeen City Council budget meeting on Tuesday 5th March from 1-4pm outside Marischall College, Broad Street, Aberdeen to protest planned cuts of £40million.

All delegates are urged to get along and support this lobby.

Co-organiser and ATUC Secretary, Fiona Napier said, "It's time for feet on the streets. We need everyone's voice.

"The council meeting on Tuesday will make the decision on the budget. The P&J is reporting that more than 200 jobs could be lost and many community and sports and leisure facilities closed down."

Fiona warned that these cuts will affect the most vulnerable families in the city. "Our communities, our children, our teenagers and our elderly will be most affected by this.

"People's jobs, people's lives will be torn apart by some of these proposals."

Please get along if you can and make sure our voices heard! Everyone and their banners welcome!

No ifs, no buts, no service cuts!

Aberdeen stands with the workers of Sports Direct - come to the demo on 6th Feb.

Aberdeen Trades Union Council has pledged support for a demo on Saturday 6th February 2-3pm, organised by young workers against zero hours contracts and Sports Direct's exploitative and unfair use of them.

Click here for more information

This follows on from demos in other cities in Scotland against Sports Direct's exploitative employment practices, especially against young people.

Please get along if you can and support our young workers.

Anti austerity and Refugees are Welcome Here Rally in Aberdeen on Sunday 13th September. Please get along and support!

The Radical Independence Campaign in Aberdeen is hosting an Anti-Austerity/Refugees are Welcome Here demonstration on Sunday 13th September at 2pm in the Castlegate, Aberdeen.

The ATUC urges all delegates, associates and affliated union members to get along to this important event.

Doug Haywood of RIC said, "A year after Aberdeen's biggest ever flashmob, let's show Westminster what we think of their austerity agenda.

"With foodbank collection and charities information, speakers and stalls it promises to be a great event. All are welcome and it is completely non party political.

"So far, speakers are confirmed from RIC Aberdeen, Aberdeen CND, Future Choices and Community Food Initiatives North East, plus music from Guarana Drummers."

Click here for more information.

Join the TUC Demo at the Tory Party Conference in Manchester on 4th Oct - book your bus from Dundee now

This is the chance for ATUC delegates, associates, affliated trade union members, community and campaign groups, family and friends, to travel to Manchester to lobby the Tory Party Conference on Sunday 4th October, to call for an end to austerity and to show our opposition to the Trade Union Bill..

Dundee TUC are organising a 49 seater coach to travel from Dundee, possibly picking up at Perth and/or Stirling on the way to and from Manchester. Seats will also be available to Aberdeen, Fife and Angus people on a first come first served basis.

Tickets are likely to be priced at £15 Waged, £5 Unwaged, with the rest of the cost hopefully met through donations from trade unions and Trade Union Councils. However if sufficient donations are not forthcoming or not enough people book seats, then the bus will not run.

Click here for more information.

Scotland United Against Austerity 20th June, George Square, Glasgow - Book your free bus now!

#ToriesOutNow #NoMoreAusterity

Aberdeen Trades Union Council, with sterling assistance from Doug Haywood, has organised a bus to Glasgow to take part in Scotland United Against Austerity on 20th June 2015.

Seats will be free but to book your place, contact Conductor John on  jconnon1@hotmail.com or on 07505006170 

Click here for the facebook site. However to book a place on the bus you MUST contact John.

Come along to the lobby of the Scottish Liberals in Aberdeen on 20th March and tell them that austerity has not worked.

The STUC has organised a leaflet and lobby of the Scottish Liberal Party Conference on Friday 20th March 2015 at Aberdeen International Conference Centre between 12noon and 1pm. The lobby will call for decent work and dignifies lives as part of a just Scotland and will challenge the austerity measures that the UK Government, of which the Lib Dems are a part, has put in place.

Kate Ramsden, Vice President of the ATUC said, "We are encouraging our delegates, associates and affiliated unions to join this very important lobby. We said from the start that austerity would not work. That it would hit the poorest hardest while those that caused the financial crisis, the bankers and the fat cats would carry on business and bonuses as usual. And we were right.

"That inequality would increase, that more children would grow up in poverty with their parents reliant on food banks to survive. And we were right.

"That the Government's policies would create a low wage economy that would reduce tax receipts and cut the money people had to spend in their local shops and businesses and that as a result the economic recovery would be much much slower. And we were right.

"We need to tell the Lib Dems that they have let down workers and created poverty and hardship for many people whilst the rich cream it in adding to their already enormous wealth.

"Please come along and hold the Lib Dems accountable for their actions in Government."