Meeting of the Parliament 01 March 2016
In general, I welcome the recommendations of this report, which back up many of the things that Scottish Labour has been saying for some time. The Scottish Government has also made supportive noises but has not always taken opportunities when they are presented. I hope that this report will be a spur to move beyond lip service in such areas.
Having said that, I acknowledge that the big obstacle to the report’s first recommendation—which is for better research and improved data that can be used to establish a fair work index—is not the Scottish Government but the UK-wide Office for National Statistics. As the Scottish Trades Union Congress noted,
“the Scottish Government plays the weak hand dealt by ONS very well; it presents ONS data in an accessible and up to date fashion”.
Serious pressure needs to be applied at UK level to improve the quality of labour force statistics and enable the Scottish dimension to be properly explored.
The Scottish Government needs to have a clear idea about how research and analysis should be extended. Perhaps, then, it is just as well that the next recommendation—to ask the chief economic adviser for advice on what research would be useful, and to ask the Scottish Government what it would do with such research—gives the Scottish Government a steer on that.
I am glad that the committee
“believes that scope exists to place stronger emphasis on the Living Wage and fair work practices through the public procurement process”.
It is just a pity that the opportunity was missed in the Procurement Reform (Scotland) Bill. If that opportunity had been taken, we might now be in a stronger position and not merely encouraging public bodies to explore options.
Mental health needs much greater support. Unfortunately, that is an area where the Scottish Government’s progress is disappointing in several respects, including funding, waiting times, young people, and workers in high-stress employment such as in the national health service. Better support for mental health services is not just the right thing to do; it is an important factor in other respects. We need monitoring of mental health in the workplace to become more effective. Otherwise, we are more likely to suffer economic and organisational failures as a consequence of not addressing the problems of mental health in the workplace. Temporary contracts, zero-hours contracts and lack of job security contribute to the stress of employment. Secure and stable working arrangements should be the default, not the exception.
I welcome the approach to the Department for Work and Pensions but, again, it is a pity that the opportunity of the Procurement Reform (Scotland) Bill was allowed to pass by.
The action against and clarification of “exploitative” zero-hours or short-hours contracts is both welcome and overdue. As a trade unionist, I oppose the Tory attack on workers’ rights in the Trade Union Bill and I regret that the Scottish Parliament was not allowed to take a stronger stand against it.
l believe that good industrial relations are in the best interests of workers and employers, so any help that can be given to get employers to see the light is very welcome. Like others, I look forward to the minister’s response to the recommendations in the report.
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