Daily Record
NATIONALISTS unveiled plans to scrap council tax and replace it with a local income tax yesterday.

MSPs will get a chance to vote on the future of the council tax next week in a debate called by the Scottish Socialists.
SSP leader Tommy Sheridan has plans for a new service tax, but is willing to talk to other parties about a replacement system.
Sheridan said: 'The most recent opinion poll showed 77per cent of Scots want the unfair council tax scrapped in favour of a system related to a person's ability to pay.
'Next Thursday's vote will be against the council tax and for an income-based alternative.
'The form of alternative can be decided in debate later. The priority is to unite against the council tax.
'I appeal to the SNP and Liberal Democrats to put aside our major differences to ensure that on this issue Scotland's pensioner and low income households win.'

SSP Research, Policy & Media Unit
Press Release: 04/03/04

Carolyn Leckie MSP, the Scottish Socialist Party's representative on the Parliamentary Business Bureau, today criticised the Deputy Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament for refusing to take a motion without notice that would have allowed the Scottish Parliament to debate the plight of the Kurdish asylum seekers on hunger strike in Glasgow.
Carolyn said;
"The Deputy Presiding Officer should reflect on his decision to put sensitivity about parliamentary procedural niceties ahead of a dire humanitarian emergency and his decision reflects badly on the offices of the Presiding Officer.
"The Scottish Socialist Party wanted to give the Executive an opportunity to indicate what measures they intend to take to avoid a humanitarian catastrophe.
"I sincerely hope the parliament doesn't live to regret the decision as next week may be too late."

SSP Research, Policy & Media Unit
Press Release: 04/03/04

The Scottish Socialist Party is this afternoon attempting to move an emergency resolution in the Scottish Parliament on the 3 Iranian Kurdish asylum seekers who are on hunger strike in Glasgow.
The motion reads;
Parliament expresses it's grave concern at today's developments in relation to; Faroq Haidari, Fariborz Gravindi and Mokhtar Haydary the Iranian, Kurdish Asylum seekers who are conducting a hunger strike and considers that the executive should exert every possible avenue of influence to avoid even more grave consequences for the health of all 3 men and to resolve the issues which have precipitated the hunger strike.

Public Meeting

Solidarity against poverty pay

Public Meeting
Tuesday 9th March 7.30pm
Renfield St Stephen's Church Centre, 260 Bath St (by Charing X station)

speakers:
TOMMY SHERIDAN SSP MSP
A LOCAL NURSERY NURSE
ALAN BROWN (civil service union PCS)

• 5,000 low-paid nursery nurses have been forced to strike because the COSLA employers refuse a decent offer. They earn from £10,000 to £13,800 after 10 years experience - peanuts for the caring, responsible job they do with our kids.


• 90,000 low-paid civil service workers are striking against poverty pay - the average admin worker is on £10,588 - 25% of civil servants earn below £13,750

ATTEND THIS PUBLIC MEETING - HEAR THE STRIKERS' CASE BUILD FINANCIAL & MORAL SUPPORT FOR LOW-PAID WORKERS BATTLING AGAINST SLAVE WAGES

Nursery Nurses 'Solid' in Walkout

The Scottish Socialist Party tabled a motion to debate the matter in Parliament on Thursday.

Carolyn Leckie MSP said: “Thousands of nursery nurses have been taking industrial action for 10 months and the Scottish Socialist Party places itself squarely on the side of these low paid, undervalued and overwhelmingly female workers.

“We need to force the Executive off the fence over this dispute. The nursery nurses dispute is clearly within the domain of the Scottish Executive and yet they do not want to discuss the issue.” The Scotsman

Bigwigs demand deal they won't give nursery nurses

COUNCIL bosses blocking a national pay deal for nursery nurses were yesterday branded hypocrites for demanding a Scotland-wide deal themselves. Pat Watters, president of councils' association COSLA, told MSPs in January that all elected councillors in Scotland should enjoy nationally agreed pay rates.

The suggested figure was £25,150, half the basic salary of MSPs but he said even that would 'not be a reasonable level of remuneration' for councillors.

If Watters gets his way, the pay rise would add £22 million a year to the bill for taxpayers that already goes on generous allowances for councillors.

That is equivalent to 0.2 per cent of all council spending.

Public sector union Unison calculated the same amount would give all nursery nurses a £3600 rise almost enough to fund their pay claim at a stroke...

Scottish Socialist Party leader Tommy Sheridan said: 'Pat Watters and COSLA refuse to negotiate a national settlement for nursery nurses but demand just such a package for councillors.

'It reeks of hypocrisy. Sure, councillors should be entitled to a proper salary set nationally.

'But that is what people like Pat Watters are denying Scotland's underpaid and undervalued nursery nurses.' Daily Record

SSP Research, Policy & Media Unit
Press Release: 02/03/04

Scottish Parliament to debate Nursery Nurses dispute

The Scottish Socialist Party has tabled two motions for debate in the Scottish Parliament on Thursday 11th March, one on the council tax and the other on the nursery nurses dispute.
Carolyn Leckie MSP, the SSP’s representative on the Parliamentary Business Bureau said;
“We are using some of our very limited parliamentary time of one and a half mornings per year to discuss two extremely important Scottish political issues, the council tax and the nursery nurses dispute.
“5,000 nursery nurses have been taking industrial action for 10 months and the Scottish Socialist Party places itself squarely on the side of these low paid, undervalued and overwhelmingly female workers.
“We need to force the Executive off the fence over this dispute.
“On the one hand the Executive tell us they cannot discuss important political issues like Dungavel and the Iraq war because they are reserved issues.
“The nursery nurses dispute is clearly within the domain of the Scottish Executive and yet they do not want to discuss this issue either.
“The truth is that the devolution settlement is nothing to do with the Executives willingness to speak out but rather it is fear of sticking their neck out on anything that actually matters.”
[ends]

SSP motions for debate on Thursday 11th March, 2004
Council Tax
Parliament agrees that the council tax should be abolished and replaced with an income based alternative.
Nursery Nurses
Parliament agrees that the Nursery Nurses have a just claim and that there should be a fair, nationally negotiated settlement to their current dispute.

TWO Latvian asylum seekers have been deported from Scotland eight weeks before they could legally settle in the country as economic migrants, it emerged yesterday. The move was condemned as inhumane and a waste of taxpayers' money by opposition politicians and asylum campaigners, who also attacked Jack McConnell's efforts to attract migrants to Scotland as "hypocritical". However, the Home Office indicated that it would continue to pursue a hard line against failed asylum seekers from the 10 "ascension states" which are due to join the EU on May 1. Jelena Serenja, 21, and Genadis Suhotskis, 31, were arrested 11 days ago when they reported to immigration officials in Glasgow. The Home Office confirmed to The Herald that they have subsequently been flown out of the country.

The couple, who have previously been detained in Dungavel asylum seeker removal centre, came to Scotland in 2001 after claiming to have uncovered government corruption in Latvia. Ms Serenja has a bullet wound in her shoulder which she claims was the result of an assassination attempt. Although this was accepted by the government, their asylum application was turned down. Friends and supporters said they were unsure whether they have been taken to Russia or Latvia.

Rosie Kane, the Scottish Socialist MSP who has written to the Home Office on their behalf, received a text message from their mobile phone yesterday complaining that they had been beaten by Home Office officials and separated from their possessions. But she has been unable to contact them. She said yesterday the "human and emotional cost" of deporting them had been ignored by the government. "There will be others this will be happen to. They are treated like balls in a pinball machine, being battered around the planet," she said. "There's an aspect to it which says that, if the Home Office admits this couple are in danger in Latvia, it will sour relations with the country before it joins the EU. People are scapegoated for just that political purpose." The Herald