Workers are to benefit from more secure, flexible and family friendly employment through extended Fair Work conditions.
The Fair Work First approach is focused on driving high quality and fair work across the labour market by applying relevant criteria to public sector grants and procurements.
New criteria will come into effect from October 2021 which will encourage employers to explicitly promote flexible and family friendly practices, alongside their opposition to fire and rehire processes and their support for other fair work priorities.
This offers workers job security as well as flexible work that can benefit both workers and their employer. This approach is central to Scotland’s economic recovery from the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
Fair Work Minister Richard Lochhead said: “Everyone should have the opportunity to access secure and stable employment that pays a proper wage while affording staff the flexibility to balance their work and personal life.
“Despite employment law being reserved to the UK Government, we are doing all we can to work in partnership with unions, workers and employers across all sectors of the economy to build fairer and more inclusive workplaces.
“Fair work is at the heart of our economic recovery. That is why we are extending the fair work criteria to explicitly promote flexible and family friendly working alongside a clear opposition to fire and rehire practice, and doing so within 100 days of this Government.”
Speech by the Social Justice Secretary, Shona Robison, opening yesterday’s Tackling Poverty and Building A Fairer Country debate
Presiding Officer, I am pleased to open this debate on the urgent need for us to tackle poverty and build a fairer, more equal country.
We must seize the opportunity, build upon our strong efforts to date, and use every lever at our disposal to bring about the change needed to tackle this problem.
We already invest around £2 billion each year in support for people on low incomes, including over £672 million targeted at children. We have a strong focus on those at greatest disadvantage, including disabled people. And we are supporting innovative action with our £50 million Tackling Child Poverty Fund.
But we must do more. That is why we have committed a wide range of ambitious action to be delivered in the first 100 days of this Parliament – maintaining the tremendous pace taken of change throughout the COVID pandemic.
This is a priority across all Ministerial portfolios. No one action will bring about the change needed, it needs all parts of government and broader society to work together and to impact the drivers of poverty reduction – increasing household incomes from work, reducing costs on essentials and maximising incomes from social security.
The eradication of poverty and building a fairer more equal country must be a national mission for government, for our parliament and for our society. We must try, where possible, to unite on this issue and work together to create a fairer Scotland.
Backed by over £1 billion of additional funding, our response to the pandemic shows that we can make change happen at the pace and scale required to support people and improve their lives. And we wand to build on this can do approach.
We delivered free school meal support during all school holidays and periods of remote learning for children from low income families – helping to tackle food insecurity during the pandemic. We will continue this whilst expanding Free School Meal support to all primary pupils, which will start within the first 100 days of this Parliament.
Also, in our first 100 days we will complete the roll-out of 1,140 hours of funded Early Learning and Childcare and have set out the next stage of our ambition to expand childcare further and develop a wraparound childcare system, providing care before and after school, all year round. This will make an important contribution to children’s development and will unlock the potential of parents in the labour market.
We will also deliver our £20 million summer programme for pupils, helping children socialise, play and reconnect – an essential investment to support the wellbeing of all children and young people [backed by £7.5 million from our Tackling Child Poverty Fund].
Through two Pandemic Support Payments of £100 to low income families with children we put money directly into the pockets of those who needed it most.
Building upon this approach, we will effectively pay the Scottish Child Payment through introducing bridging payments of £520 for families not yet eligible for the Payment, with £100 to be paid to families this summer. We will also provide £130 to every household who received Council Tax Reduction in April, reaching around 500,000 households.
I am pleased I can also make two announcements.
First, building on the practical support we offered during the pandemic, we will be providing the British Red Cross with a further £250,000 to continue their cash-first crisis support to those most at risk of destitution. This includes help to those impacted by the UK Government’s hostile policies that exclude them from most mainstream supports including the Scottish Welfare Fund.
And secondly, in recognition of the importance of listening to families affected by poverty, we will trial Family Wellbeing Budgets to put families firmly in control of the support they need. This new support will be delivered in partnership with the Hunter Foundation and will help to improve people’s wellbeing and capabilities.
Presiding offer, where we have the powers we are making a difference to people’s lives.
Nowhere is this more evident than in our approach to housing. Scotland has led the way in the across the UK with almost 100,000 affordable homes delivered since 2007, over 68,000 of which were for social rent. This is making a significant difference to people right across the country, and particularly for families with children.
We want to deliver a further 100,000 affordable homes by 2032. It is our aim that at least 70% of those homes will be for social rent, helping to tackle child poverty and homelessness.
But to tackle poverty effectively we must deliver a fair work future for Scotland, and we are working hard to do just that just now – but we are constrained by the powers available to us.
We cannot accept a future where two thirds of children living in poverty come from working households and where people are forced to rely on benefits to top-up their earnings.
We have to transform workplaces to tackle poverty and long-standing labour market inequalities, such as the disability employment gap and the barriers to employment faced by people from minority ethnic backgrounds.
With full powers over employment we could, as a minimum, ensure that all employees in Scotland receive the Real Living Wage, ensuring that their wages represent the true cost of living.
We could outlaw unfair fire and hire tactics, prohibiting employers from dismissing employees and subsequently re-employing them on diminished terms and conditions, and we could ban inappropriate and exploitative use of zero hour contracts, giving people the certainty about their working hours – ensuring they can plan their lives and incomes.
That’s why I have asked all party leaders to support our request to the UK Government for the full devolution employment powers to this parliament. So we can tackle poverty with the powers we need to make the change.
Social security is also an important tool to tackle poverty, and again those powers don’t lie in our hands. 85% of spending remains at Westminster alongside income replacement benefits such as Universal Credit and Employment and Support Allowance.
If we didn’t already need it, the pandemic further evidenced that the UK welfare system is not fit for purpose and risks undermining hard won progress. This is the system people in Scotland have to rely on and we shouldn’t have to mitigate against polices we disagree with like the £80 million we spent last year on Discretionary Housing Payments to mitigate the bedroom tax in full and support people with housing – we could be investing in other anti-poverty measures. If we had the powers here we would be able to do that.
The removal of the £20 uplift to Universal Credit is a callous act which will push 60,000 families across Scotland, including 20,000 children, into poverty and will result in families unable to work receiving, on average, £1,600 less per year than they would have done a decade ago – a decade ago – in 2011.
That’s a massive threat to the progress we could make here. We could be delivering the doubling of the Scottish child payment with one hand, only to see it removed by Westminster welfare policies with the other. Surely there is no-one across this chamber that can think that isin any way a good idea or a fair system?
We need to make significant investment into the pockets of those who need it most need. The Scottish child payment does that. That’s why it’s so important.
We have urged the UK Government to make the changes needed and to deliver a social security system which is fit purpose – scrapping harmful policies such as the two child cap, the rape clause, the benefit cap and 5 week wait under Universal Credit. Unfortunately, our calls, alongside many charities, organisations, and even the UN Poverty Rapporteur have been ignored. It’s time for full powers to come here so we can make the difference.
We have already shown we can make a difference – a public service based on human rights with respect and dignity at its heart and viewed as an investment in the people of Scotland. Principles we enshrined in law.
Through our powers, we are tackling child poverty head on, with the Scottish Child Payment, which currently pays £40 every four weeks for every eligible child under 6. We are committed to doubling this to £80, making even greater impact.
Alongside our Best Start Grant and Best Start Foods we are providing over £5,300 of direct financial support for families by the time their first child turns six and further for subsequent children as we don’t put a cap on children. These payments are making a real difference to low income families, helping them to access the essentials they need.
That support is unmatched anywhere else in the UK.
Presiding officer, our next steps will build on the strong foundation we have set, and will be taken forward at pace these changes. No one who sits in this parliament, whatever their political beliefs, can underestimate the scale of the challenge that we face.
I want to take that forward and I’m pleased to work with anyone across this chamber who wants to join me in doing that.
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.
The First Minister’s National Advisory Council on Women and Girls (NACWG) is calling on residents from Edinburgh to get behind the #GenerationEqual movement and share their views and experiences of gender inequality in the workplace.
Inequality in the working environment continues to be an issue. Women and girls still experience challenges with gender barriers and discrimination leaving fewer opportunities for career progression, a greater likelihood of them doing lower paid jobs and a gender pay gap.
Areas the Advisory Council wish to examine include occupational segregation, balancing the inflexibility of work with caring responsibilities, and the undervaluation of women’s work.
The NACWG was established in 2017 to play a leading role in raising the issue of gender inequality on Scotland’s agenda by drawing attention to a wide range of issues faced by women and girls.
Focusing on a new Spotlight every two months, the NACWG aims to bring people together to share ideas and opinions on different gender equality issues. The Advisory Council is putting a Spotlight on fair work until the end of August, to explore the challenges faced by women in the workplace.
Louise Macdonald OBE, Co-Chair of the NACWG, said: “Longstanding gender barriers in the workplace means there remain fewer opportunities for career progression for women and girls and more women are in lower paid roles.
“Others face the “motherhood penalty” or have to take on additional caring responsibilities, and are forced into part-time work as they struggle to secure a work-life balance without the support from employers.
“It is important for the Advisory Council to hear from a diverse range of people to learn from different lived experiences. We want to hear from people in Edinburgh, whether they themselves or someone they know is affected by these issues. Every opinion we gather contributes to shaping our third report of recommendations to the First Minister.”
To have your say in the national conversation, people are encouraged to form a virtual ‘Wee Circle’ with family, friends or colleagues to discuss the issues surrounding fair work for women and girls (socially distanced, of course! – Ed.)
Feedback from these Wee Circle discussions, as well as individual feedback, can be submitted online at onescotland.org/NACWG and people can share their thoughts on social media using the hashtag #GenerationEqual.
Tackling low pay and zero hours contracts: new guidance will promote fair work
The Scottish Government will today formalise its commitment to making Scotland a fairer place to work with new statutory guidance for public sector procurement. The move has been welcomed by the STUC.
The document represents the first time any administration has gone as far, and ensures that public sector procurements can take account of the fact that employers whose staff are treated fairly are likely to deliver higher quality services.
Those bidding for public contracts will now be expected to adopt fair work practices, which may include –
paying the Living Wage
no unnecessary use of zero hours contracts
giving workers an active voice in the workplace
The Scottish Government is prevented by EU procurement law from making the Living Wage mandatory in contract agreements, but the new statutory guidance means that companies who want to secure business with public bodies are now obliged to sign up to these fair work conditions for anyone working on the contracts.
Infrastructure Secretary Keith Brown will launch the new guidance in his speech to the Procurex national procurement conference in Glasgow this morning.
He said: “The commitment to making Scotland a fairer place to work is a key tenet of this government, and our new statutory guidance for public sector procurements sees us nail our colours to the mast.
“Our model of procurement, putting the social, economic and environmental aspects of sustainability at the heart of all we do, remains the foundation of our approach.
“Employers must now recognise that they cannot adopt exploitative practices in relation to their workers and expect to be rewarded with lucrative contracts in the public sector.
“If you want to do business with the public sector in Scotland, you have to be a responsible employer and value your workers. You have to do your bit to make Scotland a fairer and more equal society.
“We will continue to do everything in our power to promote that ethos.”
The news has been welcomed by those representing workers throughout Scotland.
Grahame Smith, General Secretary of the Scottish Trades Union Congress (STUC) said: “The STUC welcomes the Statutory Guidance on Fair Work Practices being introduced by the Scottish Government, a move that once again highlights the different approach taken by the Scottish Government in tackling poor employment practices and low pay in the Scottish economy.
“The Scottish Government has taken the lead in driving forward the real Living Wage as have local authorities and we believe it is right that companies wishing to receive public contracts should demonstrate that they treat staff fairly by paying a living wage, recognise the benefits of trade unions and collective bargaining and treat their workers with the dignity and respect they deserve.
“The Fair Work Agenda and the approach taken by the Scottish Government to promoting positive industrial relations as being key to economic success is thankfully at odds with attacks on trade unions at UK level and these statutory guidelines provide public bodies the opportunity to ensure contractors understand what is expected from them, as part of the public procurement process, and their role in delivering fair work and good terms and conditions for Scottish workers.”
The Fair Work Convention was set up last year to ensure there are more good quality, well-paid jobs at all levels throughout the public, private and third sectors.
Fair Work Convention Co-Chair Anne Douglas (above) said: “The Fair Work Convention believes it is vital that work which provides individuals with opportunity, fulfilment, security, respect and effective voice and balances the rights and responsibilities of employers and employees. In doing this we can generate real benefits for individuals, organisations and for society more widely.
“It is therefore important that the Scottish Government uses all its levers to promote fair working practices and the Convention welcomes these being reflected in statutory guidance.
Linda Urquhart, the Convention’s other Co-Chair, continued: “The Fair Work Convention is currently engaging across Scotland, with business, employees, union, third and public sectors as well as society more generally to help evidence fair work and the basis from which the Fair Work Framework for Scotland will be created.
“Following the publication of their Framework in March the Fair Work Convention will welcome an opportunity to work with the Scottish Government to further this approach.”
