Just in: 83% of voluntary sector workers facing cuts
New research by Unite for Our Society has found that an overwhelming majority of voluntary sector workers in Scotland are facing cuts.
Out of 423 Unite members surveyed over the phone, 351 said their workplace was being directly hit by cuts to funding.
Nearly half also said they were at risk of redundancy, while 74% said they had had their terms and conditions changed.
Unite Scottish Secretary Pat Rafferty said: “The results portray an extremely worrying picture for the sector and that organisations and the workforce are on the brink of breaking point. A workforce who have had their terms and conditions eroded, a sector that is being dragged to the bottom, and, people fearing whether they will have a job this time next year."
As a result of the findings in our representative survey, Unite is calling for:
- A Scottish Parliament Inquiry into voluntary sector funding
- A sector forum to be set up for areas of the voluntary and third sector
- The Scottish Parliament to enforce that public procurement is used as a lever to ensure quality service provision and fairer conditions for the workforce.
Pat Rafferty continued: “For many years we have been aware of the precarious situation of the voluntary and not-for-profit sector. However, even we were taken aback by the crisis in the sector.
“The Scottish Government on the back of these results must intervene and all of us have a collective responsibility to ensure that we protect this vital sector which delivers a fantastic public service.”
The Unite survey, which covered ten voluntary sector organisations across the country, is the largest representative survey ever done by a trade union in the sector.
