Elaine Smith has reacted to defend jobs in her constituency following comments by Airdrie and Shotts MSP Alex Neil.
Writing in the Wishaw Press, Mr Neil’s said that North Lanarkshire Council’s education department is ‘bloated with staff’ and 'not fit for purpose'.
Elaine said:
“The staff in North Lanarkshire Council’s education department, in my constituency, do an excellent job.”
“I agree with the branch secretary of the North Lanarkshire Branch of Unison that this was an unprovoked attack on hard working employees from an SNP Minister who is partly responsible for cuts in jobs and services.”
“At a time when public sector workers are already feeling under pressure from the scale of the cuts being imposed on them by the Scottish Government, this attack will do nothing to help morale.”
“Given that the Scottish Unemployment rate is already higher that than in the rest of the UK, the SNP need to confirm what level of job losses my constituents employed by North Lanarkshire Council would face under a local SNP administration.”
In the three months from September to December last year unemployment in Scotland rose by 19,000, to 231,000. The Scottish unemployment rate now stands at 8.6%, above the national rate of 8.4%.
