Scotland's largest union has backed calls for a second independence referendum.
UNISON Scotland today voted overwhelmingly to support the staging of indyref2 at a time determined by the Scottish Parliament.
The motion passed dictates the union supports the call by means of 'either a section 20 order or an amendment to the Scotland Act as a satifactory means of transferring the power over independence referndums'.
READ MORE: Brexit: Nicola Sturgeon shares Europe-Scotland 'love-heart' image
Speaking at UNISON's Scottish Council meeting in Glasgow, the union's Scottish convenor Lilian Macer said: "This is no way pre-determines the views our members may take in the event of an independence referendum, but they should have the opportunity to express their views.
"UNISON Scotland will take this decision into the wider trade union movement and, together with the Jimmy Reid Foundation, we will promote the debate at the forthcoming STUC congress in April 2020.
READ MORE: Kevin McKenna: We could break the cycle of poverty – but do Scots care enough?
"UNISON Scotland defends public services and those who deliver them and it is imperative that we explore the full range of options available to the people of Scotland."
The SNP has welcomed the news, which comes just days after the Scottish Parliament voted to hold an independence referendum this year.
Unison's decision follows a similar call by Scottish Trades Union Congress (STUC) General Secretary Graeme Smith, and cross-party voices including senior Labour MSPs and MPs who have called for the Scottish Parliament to have the power to hold an independence referendum.
Commenting, Keith Brown MSP said: “There is now an unstoppable momentum behind a fresh independence referendum.
“Scotland voted overwhelmingly to reject Brexit but we have been dragged out of the EU against our will by a Tory government with no mandate here. The people of Scotland must have a choice over our future - so we can remain at the heart of Europe as an equal and independent country.
”Unison, Scotland’s biggest trade union, is the latest respected body to support a transfer of powers so the Scottish Parliament can hold a fresh referendum at a time of its choosing. The democratic right of the people of Scotland to determine our own future cannot be ignored by Westminster.
“And the Constitutional convention announced by the First Minister on Friday will provide an opportunity for organisations such as Scotland’s Trade Unions to come together with elected politicians around that democratic right.
“The SNP won a landslide victory at the general election on a cast-iron mandate to hold an independence referendum. The more Boris Johnson tries to ignore Scotland’s democratic mandate to choose our own future the more support for independence will continue to grow.”
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel