Pledge to protect workers

FAIR WORKS PRACTICES HIGHLIGHT NEED FOR COLLABORATION

Business groups, trades unions and leaders from local government and the third sector have committed to putting fair work at the heart of Scotland’s economic recovery.

As Scotland continues to ease lockdown restrictions, organisations including the Institute of Directors (IoD), SCDI, STUC, COSLA and SCVO have signed a statement underlining the collaborative approach needed between employers, unions and workers to ensure workplaces can operate safely.

Fair Work Minister Jamie Hepburn said: “There is no doubt that Scotland’s economy faces an enormous challenge as we emerge from the coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis. However, I firmly believe that with employers across all sectors of the economy working in partnership with unions and workers we can use the crisis as an opportunity build fairer and more inclusive workplaces.

“In March we published a statement of Fair Work Principles, setting out our high expectation for keeping fair work at the heart of our national response to COVID-19 during lockdown. Now, as these restrictions continue to ease, we must maintain the momentum we have started to build, ensuring collaboration between workers, employers, representative groups and trades unions.

“This new statement will help employers and employees make decisions that are in everyone’s interest as we carefully reopen the economy. I have been deeply impressed by the work already done in this area, and I want to offer my sincere gratitude to workers and employers for reacting with such agility and dynamism to the challenges thrown up by the pandemic.”

Malcolm Cannon, IoD National Director, Scotland, said: “It is absolutely critical for the recovery of the Scottish economy that the Government works closely with Business Organisations, and the IOD is happy to support this fair work initiative.”

The revised Fair Work Statement was signed by the Institute of Directors, Scottish Council for Development and Industry, COSLA, SCVO, the STUC and Scottish Government.

Last week, the Unite trade union criticised Centrica’s employment plans.

The plan by Centrica, owner of British Gas, ‘to fire and rehire’ its 20,000 employees is the latest example of organisations using the coronavirus emergency as a smokescreen to shed jobs, and erode pay and conditions of workers.

Unite, Britain and Ireland’s largest union, said the decision of the energy giant follows on from other high profile employers, such as British Airways and the University of Sheffield, which have also adopted similar ‘deplorable’ employment practices during the pandemic.

Unite represents Centrica workers including electrical services’ engineers, as well as those employed at power stations and at Centrica Storage Ltd.

Unite regional officer Mark Pettifer said: “The notice that Centrica has given the trade unions that it is going to ‘fire and rehire’ its 20,000 staff on what, we believe, will be inferior pay and employment conditions is deplorable.

“It is part of a disturbing trend where employers are using the pandemic to shed staff and erode employment conditions.

“Centrica is adopting the same tactics as BA and is using Covid-19 as a smokescreen to cut jobs of loyal and dedicated staff who have worked through the lockdown providing energy to the nation.

“Centrica has been in consultations with the unions for the last fortnight over its future plans and now in an act of bad faith unveils its ‘fire and rehire’ plans. It smacks of blackmail – ‘If you don’t do what we want, we will issue notice of dismissals’.

“Unite urges the Centrica management to have an urgent rethink and engage constructively with the trade unions to tackle the specific issues facing Centrica and, more generally, the UK energy sector post-Covid-19.”

In June, Centrica announced that it would be axing of 5,000 jobs, primarily at management level. Before lockdown the company faced a situation of customers leaving to go to smaller suppliers, the energy price cap and falling gas prices.

More information about Fair Work can be found on the Fair Work Convention website.