In these lockdown times, many of us are reflecting on how we live and how we emerge to organise for a progressive, collective, less polluted society.
The Jimmy Reid Foundation has this week published a series on reconstructing Scotland after crisis.
As a contributor, I make the case that the values that guide our society must change so that the work that civil and public servants carry out is properly and fully valued. This means not just universal and permanent respect but also the wages and working conditions that accord with that. My point is not to privilege public servants but to argue that a vast array of workers and the work they carry out must be seen in a different light – one that values the public good they do and does not reduce everything to the ‘pounds and pence’ of the ‘added value’ that they bring.
The paper includes short articles on health and social care, public transport, Universal Basic Income, higher education governance, climate justice, freedom of information by a panel of progressive Scottish thinkers associated with the Foundation.
I know other Left and progressive across our movement are publishing and debating these issues too and that is encouraging. But most important is the opportunities that are now raised for the collective organisation of workers.
We are all Rosa's daughters... 