Meeting of the Parliament 12 March 2019
I hope that my remarks are a contribution to the discussion about how we progress this issue. In truth, the landscape of public procurement under the SNP’s watch is scarred with unfair work practices. Look at the care sector. Just a few weeks ago, Silverline Care, which has six care homes in Scotland and is funded largely from the public purse, moved to derecognise the GMB.
Further, look at the building of the new Dumfries and Galloway Royal infirmary, where Laing O’Rourke refused to allow trade union organisation on the site, let alone any kind of collective agreement. The same company is following the same practices on Edinburgh’s St James development, which the First Minister, when she was the Cabinet Secretary for Infrastructure, Investment and Cities, hailed as “innovative” and as something that would
“stimulate growth in the short term and lay the foundations for long term success.”
However, that is not quite the picture that Unite has painted for me. It says that, on the basis of the contract, Laing O’Rourke
“do not support the policy of the Scottish Government’s Fair Work vision of ‘effective voice’”.
It says that the company
“steadfastly refuse to allow the union to speak to members freely within the welfare facilities on the site. Equally they do not recognise collective bargaining arrangements or trade union organisation through stewards, reps et cetera.”
I stress that this is a publicly funded project with Scottish Government money in it.
I will end where I began. It is to the Scottish Government’s credit that it has struck a fair work agreement with civil service trade unions. However, if, on a construction site just a few yards from its St Andrew’s house headquarters, on a Government-funded public project, there is a denial of basic employment rights—basic human rights, I would argue—the Scottish Government is clearly failing in its duty to the people and in its obligation to use all the powers that are open to it. That is why I move amendment S5M-16257.1, to leave out from “welcomes” to “2025” and insert:
“notes the publication of the Fair Work Action Plan; believes that this plan is not bold enough in its ambitions, particularly on targets for reducing the number of people in Scotland paid less than the living wage; calls on the Scottish Government to use its procurement processes to ensure that all contractors pay at least the real living wage and adhere to collective bargaining, and that all contracts issued by the Scottish Futures Trust comply with Unite the Union’s construction charter”.
15:11Motions, questions or amendments mentioned by their reference code.