Meeting of the Parliament 12 March 2019
Yes, but getting businesses to sign up to the pledge is a specific Government goal, and the fact that only half a percentage point have done so is, in my view, a sign of failure.
Worse than that, the Scottish Government makes clear in the “Fair Work Action Plan” that it wants to stick with the current approach and “retain the light touch”. When it comes to employment standards, the working women and men of Scotland are not looking for a Scottish Government with a light touch; they are looking for one with a firm and principled touch. They want a Government that is prepared to use the leverage that it has and that is prepared to say that those who are not a living wage employer, who operate exploitative zero-hours contracts and who deploy tax avoidance, such as those umbrella companies that are rife in the construction industry, will not win public procurement contracts or receive governmental support.
We recognise that the action plan promises to make awards of regional selective assistance dependent on adherence to a set of fair work measures from the start of the next financial year. Of course we welcome that—we have been calling for that for years. The corollary of that is this: why is the Government prepared to continue to offer other funds and other business support to employers across Scotland that pay below the living wage, that continue to operate zero-hours contracts, and that do not fulfil their legal duties under the Equality Act 2010? Why is it prepared to keep on paying those companies for up to two more years?