SCOTTISH GREENS TO LAUNCH TRADE UNION GROUP & HEAR FROM STUC CHIEF
Scottish Greens meeting at their biggest ever party conference on 10 and 11 October at the SECC in Glasgow will launch their own trade union group and have announced Grahame Smith, General Secretary of the STUC, as a keynote speaker.
Membership of the Scottish Greens now stands at 9,000, with consistent polling suggesting Green MSPs will be elected from across Scotland's eight regions at next year's Holyrood election. The Scottish Greens have been tipped to rival the Conservatives as the third largest party at Holyrood.
Sarah Beattie-Smith, Scottish Green MSP candidate for South of Scotland in 2016 and the party's spokesperson on infrastructure, said:
"The Scottish Greens have long had positive relations with Scotland's trade union movement and the launch of our own trade union group shows the importance we attach to workers' rights. Working people need an active trade union movement to represent their interests and tackle exploitation and poor treatment.
"There are challenges and opportunities as we head towards the 2016 election. A strong Green voice is essential so we can resist the anti-trade union legislation coming from the Conservatives at Westminster. And we have huge potential in Scotland to create more and better jobs by investing in sustainable industries and encouraging employers to work more closely with workers and communities."
Other speakers at conference including Green MP Caroline Lucas, food poverty campaigner Jack Monroe and Scotland's former chief medical officer Harry Burns.