Hansard

I welcome the opportunity to speak in the debate. The St Andrew's day holiday gives Scots the chance to celebrate Scotland's culture and all that is good about Scotland and marks the start of Scotland's winter festival and our traditional festive celebrations. It allows us to recognise our patron saint and to celebrate our national identity and our ethnic and cultural diversity—all that is good about Scotland. It allows us to reiterate our welcome to citizens around the world who choose to come and visit our country.

The events are a welcome move, and I welcome the Government's motion. I am sure that the St Andrew's day holiday will be a welcome boost to many Scots, offering them the opportunity to participate in the special events that are scheduled for the day, to do some Christmas shopping or to visit some of the country's vibrant Christmas markets.

It is important that we recognise the vital contribution of Dennis Canavan, who introduced the St Andrew's Day Bank Holiday (Scotland) Bill to the Scottish Parliament back in 2005.

I hope that the St Andrew's day holiday will capture the imagination of people up and down the country, particularly in our schools. In my constituency, St Andrews primary school in Airdrie is possibly slightly more excited than many other schools—although I am sure that it is not alone in looking forward to the celebrations—because 2007 is the school's 50th anniversary year. The year will culminate in tomorrow's events. Throughout 2007, the children have been learning about the school's history and Scotland's history, people and culture. The school is looking resplendent, having been thoroughly decorated. Even the dull grey school gates have been painted bright blue and white with a saltire. Aside from the celebrations on the day itself, I am proud to say that the school has raised £4,000, which it has given to the aptly named St Andrew's Hospice in Airdrie, which does a fantastic job looking after the sick. That is one example of many that I am sure will be replicated across Scotland.

I hope that in the years to come St Andrew's day will become as embedded in our culture as Burns night has turned out to be. However, it is important that we do not lose sight of the fact that, although the winter festival is a two-month-long celebration, two of the most important times in the calendar are hogmanay and new year's day. Scotland's unique hogmanay celebrations attract visitors from around the world. They are a valuable part of our heritage and culture, so it is vital that hogmanay maintains its status as one of the most important dates in our national calendar. Scotland is the only part of the UK that has a statutory holiday on both new year's day and 2 January, which ensures that Scots can make the most of our traditional hogmanay festivities.

Unfortunately, our historic celebrations are starting to be undermined by the growing trend of retailers to open 365 days a year, with many supermarkets also now opening 24 hours a day. That is leaving thousands of shop workers unable to participate in our national celebrations throughout the two-month winter festival season. Given the Government's enthusiasm for the winter festival, it is a shame that it has disappointed so many of Scotland's shop workers by scrapping the previous Executive's promised research on new year's day trading.

My Christmas Day and New Year's Day Trading (Scotland) Act 2007 was passed by Parliament earlier this year with overwhelming cross-party support, including from the SNP. It was a victory for Scotland's shop workers, who were looking forward to celebrating the new year with their families—which is not too much to ask and is something that most workers take for granted. Most shop workers accept that they have to work on St Andrew's day, given its proximity to Christmas, but the reality is that although there is no real demand for shops to open on new year's day, more retailers are attempting to cash in on our hogmanay celebrations and to turn new year's day into just another shopping day.

Retail is now a 24-hour industry, and many workers are under constant pressure to work extra hours, particularly during the festive period. They work Saturdays, Sundays and even bank holidays, usually for no extra pay. Shop workers are among the lowest paid in the country—many are paid little more than the national minimum wage. Surely it is right that they should be allowed to join in with Scotland's hogmanay celebrations without worrying about having to work.

The thousands of shop workers across Scotland who backed the campaign to keep new year's day special were relying on the Government to deliver—after all, SNP members happily voted for the 2007 act, with its amendments, back in March. They happily supported the amendment to commission research into the impact of the ban, which is what ensured a parliamentary majority. It is therefore disappointing that the SNP Government has backtracked on the commitment that meant so much to thousands of Scotland's shop workers.

Shop workers across Scotland find it hard to believe that a party that claims to be the voice of Scotland and that is so enthusiastically promoting the celebration of our traditional St Andrew's holiday and the winter festivals is choosing not to support them about new year's day working. I ask the Government to reconsider its position, support Scotland's shop workers and honour the will of Parliament as expressed in March this year.