THE umbrella group for Scotland’s trade unions is to benefit from £730,000 of public money for a new building, adding to questions about its over-reliance on government funds.
Finance Secretary Derek Mackay said he was giving the grant to Clyde Gateway to help the Scottish Trades Union Congress move to a new £2m headquarters in the east end of Glasgow.
The STUC, which speaks for nearly 500,000 people, already relies on the SNP government for 60 per cent of its income, around £2.6m a year.
After the figure was revealed in August after being leaked to the Herald, the GMB said it raised concerns about “transparency and accountability in the running of the STUC”.
Other union sources also claimed the STUC, which has members in 39 unions and 20 trade union councils, had become too close to the SNP government and lost its way.
General secretary Grahame Smith is a member of the First Minister’s Standing Council on Europe and backed her position in the row over a Brexit “power grab” of Holyrood powers.
According to accounts presented to the STUC congress in Aviemore earlier this year, it and its spin-off arm, STUC Training Ltd, had a total income of £4.3m in 2017.
Of this, less than a quarter came from affiliation fees, while £2.3m came from SNP ministers giving money to STUC Training Ltd as part of a ‘Scottish Learning Initiative’, and £324,000 came from the government for the ‘Union Modernisation Fund’.
Mr Mackay told the SNP conference in Glasgow: “We do believe that government can be a catalyst for economic growth. I’m particularly pleased to be announcing today that we will be supporting the regeneration of the East End of Glasgow with a grant of £730,000 to Clyde Gateway to support the development of a new £2m headquarters for the STUC.”
Tory MSP Bill Bowman said: "Taxpayers will be more than outraged that their money is being spent by the SNP on new premises for the STUC.
“This cosy deal certainly casts a shadow over future activities of the STUC and undermines its 'independence'.
“Indeed, STUC members could be concerned about how robustly their interests will be represented to the SNP government in the future.
"This shows again the Secret Scotland of the SNP.”
Scottish LibDem MSP Alex Cole-Hamilton said: “This smacks of an unhealthy relationship between the trade union movement and the party of government.
“Trade union members and regular Scottish citizens will wonder how the Scottish Government has found nearly £1m to move the STUC to plush new offices.
“We need a robust STUC to challenge and criticise the decisions of government which impact negatively on workers.
“It’s vital the trade union movement is independent of management and government."
The STUC is currently based at the Woodlands Resource Centre in Glasgow’s Kelvinbridge.
Mr Smith said: "The STUC is proud to be working closely with Clyde Gateway to relocate our headquarters to the east end of Glasgow, an area neglected for decades and in desperate need of regeneration.
"The funding announced today will go directly to Clyde Gateway. Alongside its investment, we will be investing over £1m pounds of our own funds to build a new, modern Trade Union Centre for Scotland and a facility that will be accessible to and bring benefit to the local community.
"The suggestion this investment or any other work we do in partnership with public agencies undermines our independence is ridiculous.
"We make no apology for working in partnership with any organisation when it brings benefits to workers and working class communities.”
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