Meeting of the Parliament 30 September 2015
No, thanks. I want to get through all this.
The levels of positive school-leaver destinations, both initial and sustained, are at an all-time high, with the percentage of 2013-14 school leavers who were in a sustained positive destination in March 2015 reaching 92 per cent. Overall, the proportion of 16 to 64-year-olds who are economically active is higher in Scotland than the UK figure and higher than that of any other UK nation, and the number of young people who are not in education, employment or training is at its lowest level since 2004.
That does not mean that there is not more to do. In its written evidence to the Economy, Energy and Tourism Committee, Citizens Advice Scotland identified that
“18% of employees in Scotland are paid less than the Living Wage, equivalent to 418,000 individuals.”
That figure is far too high, but Scotland now has the lowest proportion of workers who are paid below the living wage of any UK nation. The Citizens Advice evidence also highlighted that a Joseph Rowntree Foundation report on a minimum income standard found that people who were being paid
“the National Minimum Wage and taking up all in-work benefit entitlements were short of a basic income as determined by members of the public”
of between £110 and £197 per week, which depended on their individual circumstances.
The Scottish Government does not have powers to adjust the national minimum wage or in-work social security benefits, and employment law is reserved to Westminster. Devolution of those powers is something that Unite called for in its response to the Smith commission, and it is something that the Labour Party failed to support.
What the Scottish Government can do until it gets legislative powers is influence public and private sector employers with a number of initiatives. The Scottish procurement policy note that was issued in February provides information on how and when employment practices and workforce matters, including payment of the living wage, should be considered in a public procurement exercise, as a key driver of service quality and contract delivery. A key point in the policy note states:
“Fair pay, including payment of the living wage, is one of the ways a bidder can demonstrate that it takes a positive approach to its workforce”.
It continues:
“The Scottish Government considers the payment of the living wage to be a significant indicator of employer commitment in this regard.”
We also have the Scottish business pledge, which is a partnership between the Scottish Government and business with the goal of boosting productivity, competitiveness, employment, fair work and workforce engagement and development. The pledge asks that employers pay the living wage, meet at least two of the other elements and have a longer-term commitment to meet all nine—paying the living wage, not using exploitative zero-hours contracts, supporting progressive workforce engagement, investing in youth, making progress on diversity and gender balance, committing to an innovation programme, pursuing international business opportunities, playing an active role in the community and committing to prompt payment.
Then there is the Scottish Government’s support for the Living Wage Foundation. The Government has set an example to other employers by receiving accreditation as a living wage employer. Independent research on employers that have introduced the living wage has shown that it increases employee productivity and improves morale, motivation and commitment from staff, and it can be a cost-saving opportunity for companies because of higher staff retention rates and reduced sickness absence levels.
It would be helpful to know what Labour’s position is on the living wage. The Labour shadow chancellor was reported in The Independent on Monday as saying that he
“wanted to raise the legal minimum wage to a full statutory living wage”.
However, in the same article, Labour’s shadow business secretary was reported as stating that
“George Osborne’s significant increase in the minimum wage should have been done more slowly”.
Given that a major discount supermarket is paying a higher minimum wage today than Labour wanted to introduce by 2020, it would be helpful to know what the Opposition policy actually is.
15:17