Meeting of the Parliament 15 December 2015
Ministers have held meetings regularly with the Scottish Trades Union Congress. We meet to discuss a number of matters, of course, but the Trade Union Bill has been to the fore. Last week, the First Minister and Deputy First Minister had their biannual meeting with the STUC and the bill was discussed.
As most members probably know, the FM addressed the STUC anti-Trade Union Bill rally last Thursday night. Indeed, on 24 November she gave the keynote address at the Jimmy Reid memorial lecture and the bill formed a large part of what she had to say. I have met the STUC and Unison to discuss the bill on a number of occasions recently.
I do not think that there is any sense that this Government is not taking the issue extremely seriously. We have huge concerns about the bill’s impact on the Scottish Government’s industrial relations. In my view, the bill will endanger industrial relations in Scotland, although we have a better record on industrial relations than anywhere else in the United Kingdom.