#ChallengePoverty Challenge Poverty Week, from 5-11 October, aims to highlight the growing problem of poverty in Scotland and showcase the solutions we can all get behind to solve it.
Our branch has donated to food banks in Aberdeenshire throughout this Covid pandemic. We were proud to do our bit to ensure that no one in Aberdeenshire would go hungry. However we are horrified that food banks should be so essential to prevent so many of our citizens from facing hunger in the sixth richest country in the world.
Child poverty in Aberdeenshire sits at 14% – that is one in seven of our children living below the poverty line. Across Scotland it is one in four of our children and 65% of these children live in a household where one or both parents are in work.
That is why we are supporting Challenge Poverty Week; that is why poverty is a trade union issue. We encourage all our members to do the same.
During this week we are joining hundreds of organisations from across Scotland in taking part in Challenge Poverty Week, with faith groups, local authorities, businesses, trade unions and charities all raising our collective voice against poverty. We all want to live in a just and compassionate Scotland, but to achieve this action must be taken to loosen the grip of poverty on people’s lives.
This includes Aberdeenshire Council and you can see the programme of events the council has planned by clicking here.
The branch is writing to our MPs and MSPs calling on them to act to end poverty in Aberdeenshire, Scotland and across the UK.
You can go on the Poverty Alliance website and get the letter templates to add your voice to this call.
The key messages of Challenge Poverty Week are:
- Too many people in Scotland are living with the constant pressure of living in poverty.
- As we plan our economic recovery, we must redesign our economy to reflect the values of justice and compassion we all share.
- By boosting people’s incomes and reducing the cost of living we can solve poverty.
We all want to do right by each other. And yet, we live in a society where one in five people live with the constant pressure of living in poverty.
Too many people are struggling to pay bills, put food on the table and take part in society. This is particularly true for women, disabled people and people from black and minority ethnic communities.
As we plan our economic recovery, we must redesign our economy to reflect the values of justice and compassion we all share. By boosting people’s incomes and reducing the cost of living we can end poverty.
Our governments must invest in affordable and accessible public services and ensure that social security benefits provide enough money for people to live a decent life. Employers must offer secure contracts and ensure every worker is paid a real Living Wage. We can all play our part by holding governments to account.
Find out more about Challenge Poverty Week