I invite members who wish to speak in this debate on protecting workers' rights to press their request-to-speed buttons now. I call on Jimmy Hepburn to speak to a motion 5864. Thank you very much, Presiding Officer. Let me at the outset, lest I forget, it moved the motion in my name. Presiding Officer, I have brought this debate to the chamber today. As I am determined, this Parliament supports the workers on which this country relies. The worker, regardless of sector, location, background or employment status, is aware of their rights, is able to exercise them and is treated fairly by their employer and, when this does not happen, has access to justice. The debate today also gives us the chance to recognise the vital role of strong trade unions to our economy and to our society. The UK Government's Trade Union Act represents a direct threat to unions and to the collaborative approach that we take here in Scotland to protect the fundamental rights of workers. Let me set out again, Presiding Officer, this Government is clear and consistent opposition to the pernicious legislation. Employment regulations are there to ensure safe working conditions and paternity leave and entitlement to holiday pay. Our world of work is changing. The growth of the so-called gig economy and the need to protect new workers in this new employment category is vital. Self-employed workers constitute around 13 per cent of our workforce. That is 13 per cent of our workforce who have little or no statutory benefits. Zero hours contracts have become more prevalent, although the reuse is lower in Scotland than in the rest of the UK. Technology is advancing indeed. Heel Findlay. I wonder if you could address the issue of bogus self-employment, which is rife in the construction industry in a number of areas, including Scotland and some of the Government-funded infrastructure projects. What is the Government doing to address bogus self-employment? Indeed, having made the point that self-employed workers constitute around 13 per cent of our workforce, I could have been a bit more explicit. I recognise the point inherent in Mr Findlay's intervention that we have seen significant growth in the numbers of those who are categorised as self-employed in recent times. Undoubtedly, some of that has been driven by a desire by individuals who are self-employed to become self-employed. However, in relation to the nature of the economy, we have seen a number of people reflected in the growth of zero hours contracts pushed into the category of self-employed. Mr Findlay will be well aware of the framework and the regulations that we have put in place to ensure that there is fair employment practice in procurement going forward. I hope that that goes some way to answering Mr Findlay's question. The fundamental point that I was going on to make in relation to those changed circumstances is that employment law has not yet caught up with those changed circumstances. Importantly, the law will not always guarantee that work is fair in other ways that matter to us. Andy Wightman's amendment before recognises the need for us to be cognisant of this development in our economy and recognises the better than zero campaign, which I very much have welcomed. Let me say that we will be supporting Mr Wightman's amendment. In Scotland, we have been ahead of the curve for some time in many issues relating to fair work. The Scottish Government has been using the levers available to us to address poor working conditions and to promote fairer workplaces. Paying the real living wage of £45 an hour is a strong public commitment to tackling in-work poverty. That is why we pay at least the living wage to all those who are covered by our pay policy. Paying the living wage marks out employers as being responsible to their customers, to the public and above all to their staff. Scotland remains the best performing of all the four UK countries in terms of paying the living wage with around 80 per cent of our workforce paid at least the living wage. There are now more than 800 scots-based accredited living wage. Employers are continuing to work with and fund the Scottish living wage accreditation initiative to make progress towards our target of 1,000 accredited employers by autumn of this year. In our manifesto that we presented yesterday, we have set out that we will support the payment of the real living wage as a new minimum legal requirement to all adults over the age of 18. That will ensure that those who are covered by such a policy will be paid over £10 per hour by the end of the next UK parliamentary session. SNP MPs will push for this change for all workers not just here in Scotland but across the UK. Turning to the issue, as I have touched on briefly on zero hours contracts, this Government opposes the use of exploitative zero hours contracts. No worker should rely on a zero hours contract as their core source of income. No one should be compelled to accept or be required to rely on such a contract. No person should have to live with the strain of not knowing what their working hours will be to week. That is why, in our manifesto that we presented yesterday, we will press the UK Government to ban exploitative zero hours contracts and ensure that workers have appropriate rights and protections, including holiday and sick pay. We also opposed the UK Government's introduction of employment tribunal fees and there is strong evidence that the charging scheme has restricted access to justice. That is why we will abolish fees in Scotland using powers devolved through the Smith commission. That is why SNP MPs will press for the UK Government to reverse their charges in the next UK Parliament again not just here in Scotland but across the entirety of the United Kingdom. Our business pledge was introduced as a partnership between the Government and business to promote our shared ambitions of fairness, equality and sustainable economic growth. It encourages business to adopt progressive workplace practices such as workforce engagement to actively participate in communities and investing in innovation. There is a large body of credible evidence to show how companies can benefit through increased productivity, enhanced employee commitment and improved reputation. Just on the business pledge, to date, less than one out of every thousand business in Scotland has signed the business pledge. Does the minister see this as a ringing endorsement of his policy? I was just about to turn to the point of where we are with the business pledge. We have put in place that as a voluntary arrangement because we do not have power over employment law. If the Conservatives are willing to stand here today and say that they support the transfer of their responsibility to this Parliament, I will very much welcome that. I look forward to Mr Lockhart doing that. I would have thought that Mr Lockhart would have welcomed a business pledge making a difference to 80,000 workers across Scotland. Let me turn in that regard to Jackie Baillie's amendment. Let me say in terms of her specific wording in the amendment. I thought that it was perhaps a little more critical than it might have necessarily been. I have just made the point about our business pledge. The living wage accreditation scheme. We see 800—I will indeed, in a minute, Ms Baillie. We see the living wage accreditation scheme. We have 800 accredited employees. We see our carers positive scheme covering over 200,000 workers in Scotland. I think that that is progress. Of course I will give way. I will say this in my speech, but the minister is well aware that we support the Scottish Government in the Scottish business pledge. We just wish that you would be more ambitious in promoting it so that more people would benefit. Indeed, that is a shared agenda. It is a perfectly timed intervention for me to go on to say that, although I think that the wording is a little more critical than it needed to be, I do not want us to split hairs in this instance. I would absolutely recognise that, yes, whilst there is progress being made, we need to make further progress. I also recognise what I think is the implicit recognition in Ms Baillie's amendment that the Scottish Parliament should have control over employment law. I see very clearly the ambition that she sets out in relation to her amendment. I think that it is vital that we have the ability to see an engagement of dialogue between employers, unions and government to better embed fair work in law here in Scotland. That type of dialogue, of course, has reflected our fair work convention and also the strategic labour market group that has been established as part of the labour market strategy. If we can see control of those areas in this part, we can ensure that we have fair work embedded in our legal framework. I hope that it is recognised that there has been progress made, but we must never be complacent. Too many people are still in low-paid and insecure work. The importance of government working with partners, including trade unions, the third sector and business world to protect the rights of all workers has never been more important. In August 2016, we published our first labour market strategy that I referred to a few moments ago in recognition of current and future challenges and to set out how fair work contributes to inclusive economic growth. We will continue to work with the fair work convention to support the delivery of the five fair work dimensions, security, respect, opportunity, effective voice and fulfilment. That independent fair work convention is central to making the argument on how embracing fair work can create more innovative and productive workplaces supported by stronger industrial relations. It is a vision that I share for the fair work framework to be embedded in workplaces throughout Scotland by 2025. Protecting the rights of workers is at the very core of the fair work framework and the principles that are underpin it. Let us now focus on people who are currently looking for work and who we must support into work. We are committed to removing longstanding barriers to employment for disabled people and those at risk of long-term unemployment. That is why our new devolved employment programme is so important. Job seekers have the right to be treated with dignity and respect through those services that will be delivered locally and that are inclusive, effective and responsive with targeted support for those groups excluded through the labour market through those newly devolved employment powers. Those are some of the actions that we are taking to protect the rights of workers and we could take if we were further empowered to do so. The decisions made by the UK Government seem designed to create the opposite effect. Perhaps the most damaging is the decision to implement a hard Brexit casting on certainty over the future of protections currently in place as a result of EU law for workers in the workplace. The EU provides a harmonised approach to social protections and human rights, which I believe are at risk with the UK leaving the EU. Even if they are mirrored at the time of the UK's exit, there are concerns that the UK may be left behind as the EU improves their human rights. There are also significant concerns about access to social security. Presently, there are 181,000 EU nationals in Scotland and, indeed, there are many thousands of Scots living and working in the EU benefit from legally guaranteed co-ordination of social security, protecting access to pensions and benefits. The Tories talk about protecting workers' rights, yet we have seen them fundamentally undermine the powers of our trade unions. As a part of their hard Brexit campaign, they will withdraw the UK from the jurisdiction of the European Court of Human Rights, hardly the kind of progress we want to see. Let me turn to the amendment, the Tory amendment before us. I see it clearly sets out that they say they will transpose into UK law all of the rights set out in EU law. That might be somewhat more reassuring if we did hear from many Tory-backed benches in the UK Parliament their desire to see a race to the bottom. It might be more reassuring if we had not seen the supposed commitment to ensuring that all areas of EU law presently devolved to this Parliament would be passed to this Parliament. We have seen a clear rollback in that. What is to stop the UK Government and the Tories rolling back on the commitment set out in this amendment? Of course, most fundamentally of all, there is nothing to stop the law being changed in the future. In the Tory amendment, they want us to celebrate the fact that workers across the UK receive a minimum of £7.50 an hour, and what they call the national living wage, one of the greatest contracts before us right now, is that a decent wage. We know that the real living wage is independently set by the living wage foundation and sets out what is the minimum on which a person needs to sustain themselves and their family. The Conservatives say that they want to enhance protections for workers. Is that what the trade union act and employment tribunal fees are designed to achieve? The Conservatives want to give unemployed disabled claimants tailored employment support. Is that as long as they are able to make the journey to the nearest job centre, which if their plan closures go ahead, could be miles away? The Tory rhetoric in its amendment is not matched by Tory actions, so we will not be supporting the Tory amendment. In addition to the challenges that have been thrust upon us by the UK Government, we see the very nature of the labour market changing the emergence of the so-called gig economy. We know that there has been research that says that nearly 8 million people in Britain would consider some form of gig work in the future. Of course, we know that while there may be some benefits, they are counted by workers not receiving employment status. We need to explore that further, and that is why we have established an independent expert advisory panel to consider the challenges and opportunities associated with that type of work. That panel will take evidence over the coming period and report back to us in due course. The only certainty is that change will continue at an accelerating rate. Scotland's workforce has to be equipped to adapt and to thrive in that environment key to this. We will be developing our skills policy to ensure that training is matched to future employer requirements in parallel. We must ensure that employment policies and legislative framework adapt and respond at a similar pace to ensure that workers' rights are protected and enhanced. I hope that we can collectively seize the opportunity today to work towards a unified position of support for protecting the rights of every worker. As long as we are supporting people who are achieving their potential, we can deliver the priorities of inclusive economic growth, fair work and social justice. Dean Lockhart spoke to remove the motion in his name. In recent debates, the chamber has discussed the rapidly changing nature of the economy, the emergence of new business models such as the gig economy and the constantly changing demands that these developments are placing on workers across the UK. We therefore welcome this debate on how we can protect workers' rights in this rapidly changing environment. Over the past seven years, the UK Government has placed great emphasis on a series of fundamental protections for workers across the UK. Indeed, since 2010, we have witnessed some of the most significant improvements in workers' rights in decades. Last year, we saw the introduction of the national living wage, which gave a pay rise to millions of workers, meaning that a full-time worker on the national living wage now earns more than £900 more a year. The UK Government has also introduced new rights for workers in the areas of annual leave, shared parental leave and maternity pay, and rights in those areas in the UK go far beyond the European equivalents. Since 2010, more than four million of the lowest-paid workers in the UK have been lifted out of tax altogether, giving those workers their right to keep more of their hard-earned wages. The UK Government has also extended perhaps the most fundamental of all employment rights—the right to work—with the creation of over 2.8 million new jobs across the UK in the past seven years. In the area of zero-hour contracts that the minister mentioned, the UK Government has ended exclusivity clauses, and it is worth highlighting that now, less than 3 per cent of all employees are on zero-hour contracts. Those positive improvements in employment protections and prospects have resulted in significantly improved industrial relations in the UK. Last year, we saw half the number of working days lost in disputes compared to 2010. For that, we must credit not only the measures taken by the UK Government but also the constructive and positive engagement of trade unions across Scotland and across the UK. Let me take this opportunity to recognise the vital role of trade unions in the Scotland's economy, society and workplace. I am concerned about the Conservative attempt to remove from the Government's motion where they say that remove is concerned about the impact that leaving the EU will have on the workforce in Scotland. Are you trying to say that the Conservative Party is not concerned about the impact that the EU might have on the workforce in Scotland, leaving the EU? As our amendment goes on to say, the UK Government has confirmed that the rights of workers conferred under EU law will be adopted into UK law when we leave the EU. Far from diluting workers' rights, leaving the EU means that we can, where necessary, introduce employment protection laws that are more relevant, more tailored and more appropriate for the UK economy. There is a whole list of areas where the UK Government, through domestic law, has extended rights for workers beyond the EU equivalents. I will mention those later. As we leave the European Union... That will not happen. As we leave the European Union, those rights will be fully protected. For example, the UK Government has gone way beyond the scope and application of equivalent EU laws. Women in the UK are entitled to 52 weeks of statutory maternity leave, not just the 14 weeks, which is guaranteed under EU law. UK workers are entitled to more paid leave than their EU counterparts. It is clear from the robust track record of the UK Government in advancing workers' rights that leaving the EU will not diminish those protections going forward. The minister questioned whether additional powers will come to the chamber. Again, look at the track record of the UK Government through successive Scotland acts in making this one of the most powerful devolved administrations and chambers in the world. Again, there is no doubt that, where appropriate, powers will be in whatever areas that come back from Brussels, powers will be devolved where appropriate to the chamber. Obviously, the SNP plan is to have those powers immediately transferred back to Brussels with your independence in Europe plan. The UK Government has published proposals in its manifesto to further expand workers' rights going forward. Those proposals include increasing the national living wage to 60 per cent of median earnings by 2020, and then increasing it by the rate of median earnings so that people on the lowest pay benefit from the same improvements as people earning higher salaries. Keith Brown I thank Dean Lockhart for taking intervention. Just for clarity, would he be able to confirm today for the benefit of Scottish businesses whether it is the case that the Scottish Tories support new taxes on Scottish businesses, such as the skills charge, and would he support the future actions of a UK Government that sought to increase national insurance contributions for self-employed people? Dean Lockhart That has been made clear in the manifesto that that will be subject to review. It depends on the fiscal position of the UK going forward. We have been reducing the budget deficit, we are reducing the national debt, and the fiscal position in the UK is far stronger than the fiscal position of Scotland under the SNP. The UK Government is proposing a number of additional worker protections, including fairer corporate governance structures with worker representations on company boards, additional protections for people outside traditional full-time employment, including self-employed people and those in the gig economy. To advance those rights, the UK Government has commissioned the Taylor review to report on the changing labour market and to consider how the interests of workers in different parts of the modern economy can be advanced. The central objective of the Taylor review is to ensure that workers' rights are protected in the context of those new working practices. It is against the background of modern working practices that I want to briefly address some of the points raised in the Government motion with respect to the trade union act. The chamber has debated the legislation before, so I do not intend to cover old ground, but let me just confirm our position. Trade unions are valuable institutions and dedicated trade unionists work hard to represent their members. It is only fair that the rights of unions are balanced with the rights of hard-working taxpayers who rely on key public services. As with any other legislation, the trade union act is designed to reflect the needs of the modern economy and it replaces a number of outdated practices that are based on legislation that is decades old. My colleagues will further address matters relating to the trade union act in the course of this debate. Presiding Officer, to protect workers' rights and pursue the fairer work agenda, it is essential that we have a strong economy. It is recognised by the Scottish Government's own labour market strategy, which states that, for Scotland to be a more successful country with opportunities for all to flourish, we need a strong economy. We agree. Only with a strong economy can we create the extra jobs, increase pay and expand workers' rights. Let me remind the minister of the economic background to this debate. The economy in Scotland is in decline. We are halfway to recession. Wage increases in Scotland are lower than the rest of the UK. Economic inactivity levels are higher and we have a budget, a notional budget deficit of £15 billion. The economic background is important. Members in this last minute. I need to conclude. The economic background is important because it will impact the ability of the Government to implement the fair work agenda and the labour market strategy. Let me conclude by looking at how the SNP in its own labour market strategy defines success, because page 40 of the SNP's labour market strategy defines success as follows. A strong labour market that drives sustainable economic growth. Unfortunately, since publication of the strategy, there has been no economic growth. Secondly, a skilled population capable of meeting the needs of employers again under the SNP is not happening. Literacy, numeracy and general education standards are all falling. Third, an economy characterised of business. Again, no, it is not happening under this SNP Government. Businesses are being hammered with increased rates and large business supplement. Let me conclude, Presiding Officer. The SNP talks a good game on workers' rights, fair work and the labour market, but when it comes to the hard realities of economic growth, take-home pay, tax levels and budget deficits and the ability to afford additional protections, the SNP is yet again failing the hard-working people of Scotland. I now call Jackie Baillie to speak to and move amendment 5864.1. No more than seven minutes, please, Ms Baillie. Thank you Presiding Officer. An economy for the many, not the few. That's Labour's ambition and that's our pledge. I've stood here many times before and encouraged and, yes, often demanded that the SNP Government do more to grow the economy. Let's face it, there is room for improvement. An objective that we can all share is that growing the economy should not and must not be at the expense of the workforce. We will only get a vibrant, growing and sustainable economy if we all share in its success. Fundamentally, that's about valuing and respecting the workforce and their rights. We most certainly will not succeed if we simply engage in a race to the bottom in pay conditions and security. The Tory amendment talks about the increase in workers' rights.  Tell that to people working in the gig economy. Tell that to those people who are employed in short-term temporary contracts. Tell that to those on zero-hours contracts with no minimum guarantee. And tell that to those in low pay struggling to make ends meet. Employment, no, I've heard enough frankly from you already, Mr Lockhart. Employment may be rising but the nature of that employment is much more fragile. What certainly isn't rising is wages. In real terms, earnings have been in decline and are still lower than they were before 2010. The truth is that under the Tories the richest view have got richer whilst working people have struggled. Nearly 6 million people across the country earn less than the living wage. Too many workers worry about how many hours they will be working from one week to the next. Increasing numbers of working people are having to rely on food banks. That's Tory Britain for you. In contrast, Labour will stand up for working people. We will invest in our country, in our services, in our infrastructure to boost our economy and to deliver for working people. And we will deliver security and equality at work. I see the Tories laughing. It would do them well to listen. Instead of pretending, no, no, no, no, you're more to be found on picket lines outside SNP conferences than anywhere else. We will deliver because all workers will have equal rights from day 1 of their employment, whether full-time or part-time, temporary or permanent. Labour will ban zero-hours contracts and we will introduce a real living wage of £10 an hour by 2020. Those are just some of the plans in our comprehensive programme to strengthen rights at work. We will also repeal the trade union act of 2016. Evidence from the RCN about facility time for trade unions shows a positive benefit on recruitment, on personnel cost, for employers. Never mind the positive benefit on patient care. The Tories just aren't interested in evidence. They're blinded by their dislike of trade unions. I have always been a trade union member for all of my working life. I value the work that trade unions do in protecting their members but they do so much more. Their efforts are not just targeted at the workplace and their existing members. They want the economy to grow and our society as a whole to flourish. They are partners with industry and with government, too. Nowhere is this partnership more evident than in the fair work convention. The aspiration and vision that by 2025 we will have a world-leading working life will drive success, wellbeing and prosperity for individuals for businesses, organisations and society is absolutely right. I want to focus on how the Scottish Government is going to ensure that this is delivered. In other words, how we get beyond the warm words to the action. Let me highlight three areas in the time left to me. Financial assistance from Government, procurement and the Scottish business pledge. Scottish Government, through agencies such as Scottish Enterprise, wants vast sums of money to attract businesses to the country and to help existing businesses to grow. I will not mention any of them by name but some are well recognised multinational online order and delivery companies. The terms and conditions that their staff operate under are questionable. Should we be giving taxpayers cash to companies like those that appear to exploit workers? There is no assessment of this when decisions are made about how to get millions of pounds of regional selective assistance. If the cabinet secretary will answer that point, maybe it is about time that there are minimum standards of workers' rights, that we should make a requirement of Government support. Will he commit to doing so? Keith Brown? Last point, I just say, wouldn't that be so much easier if Labour hadn't vetoed the devolution of employment laws? On the point that she made in the first place about some hypothetical company that received his grants, would that be the party that went in power gave grants to him as well? Jackie Baillie! We are under an injunction not to name any company so I will resist the invitation but let me say this isn't about powers that this Government doesn't have they have powers over procurement they have powers over who they give support to it is something you can do now and I would urge you to do so and that takes me on to procurement I debated the procurement reform Scotland act long and hard in this chamber and rightly so because it represents £10 billion of public money spent each year on buying in goods and services from the private sector but the experience on the ground is not good we have all heard reports about subcontractors not following the rules bringing in workers from abroad not paying them the rate for the job companies that engage in blacklisting being given huge contracts the use of umbrella companies the avoidance of tax and national insurance payment none of this do we want the minister sitting there simply shouting it's reserved it's not my responsibility it's a complete derogation of responsibility there are genuine concerns now about how we commission in social care and that this can even act against the principles of fair work so all of these issues are in the power of the Scottish Government to change the monitoring has an undertaking of procurement rules and whether they've been applied what dialogue have they had with trade unions who have raised real concerns this is where they can make a real difference if they choose to do so it's not anyone else's problem or responsibility it is ours and I will once have touched on the Scottish business pledge no I don't think you have time to Mr Bailey oh my goodness okay let me hurry up we support the Government's intentions in bringing forward the business pledge as I said earlier the problem is the ineffectiveness of the SNP in promoting the policy this time last year 0.2% of registered businesses had signed up that represented 2.4% of the total workforce it is the tip of the iceberg and we would encourage you to do more Presiding Officer let me conclude with a word on the European Union Labour's firm position is that all EU employment laws must be fully protected as we exit the European Union and the existing rights of all EU nationals living in Britain should be guaranteed that's guaranteed now not to be traded as part of the negotiation these are people who have chosen to make their home in the UK to work in our public services to set up businesses to help our economy grow we must stand beside them and for them just as we stand up for workers' rights in the UK in the interests of the many not the few and I move the amendment in my name I call Andy Wightman to speak to you and move amendment 5864.3 seven minutes please Mr Wightman I beg your pardon sorry thank you Presiding Officer in the Holyrood election last year the Scottish Greens stood on a manifesto pledge to an I quote campaign to make Government business support available only to companies who plan to pay the living wage avoid zero hours contract recognise trade unions between the highest and lowest paid pay women and men equally and environmentally responsible we recognise that much of the legislative framework around workers' rights are reserved and so we focused on what the Scottish Government can do within the powers of this Parliament happy to do so Neil Findlay he listed a list of policies that he saw as priority last year all of those all of those are in Labour's manifesto given that the Greens have almost opted out of this election which party will you be supporting in constituencies where you're not standing a candidate and yet that programme you've read out is the priority Andy Wightman The Scottish Green Party does not advocate support for any other political party obviously green voters are entitled to make their own views known to candidates and I'm sure those concerns will be front and foremost of many voters as well my amendment seeks to strengthen the levers at the disposal of the Scottish Government namely the Scottish business pledge and the fair work framework it recognises the demands of those campaigning on these issues and the initiatives the Scottish Government's taking to promote workers' rights and fair work but first of all some context in a recent report decent work for Scotland's low paid workers a job to be done by Oxfam and the University of the west of Scotland published in October last year the experiences of 1500 low paid workers were laid bare through eloquent first person testimony the report revealed among many other things that one in five workers are paid less than the living wage 138,000 are in temporary contracts and 118,000 do not receive the statutory minimum paid holidays and it made nine recommendations to the Scottish Government among which were give the fair work convention an explicit role in investigating and publicising poor employment practices and driving up standards and enhance the business pledge including by placing a more robust and transparent accreditation process at its centre but fair work is not just about workers' rights it's about the institutional discrimination in the labour market such as the gender pay gap a phenomenon that has been the subject of an inquiry recently by the economy jobs and fair work committee and in committee we heard from close the gap a charity funded by the Scottish Government to tackle the inequality faced by women at work they told us about the shortcomings of these two government initiatives in relation to the fair work framework they said and I quote there's no mention of discrimination the undervaluation of women's work and horizontal segregation the recommendations on equality are generic and lack specificity employers are encouraged to investigate and interrogate the workforce profile and identify where barriers to opportunity arise and address these creatively on the Scottish business pledge there were equally critical noting that it is not and I quote changed employer practice and equality at work more broadly and fair work also means more improved work-life balance as research earlier this year from the charity working families revealed one in five parents working full-time work an extra five weeks per year the equivalent of their annual holiday allowance and unpaid work just to keep up with the demands of the job and according to the OECD the UK's ranked amongst the worst in Europe when it comes to employment protection the European Committee on social rights also chastised the UK for non-compliance with whole swathes of labour rights again rankiest bottom of the barrel in the face of attacks on workers rights by right-wing governments at Westminster and the weak standard set by the Scottish business pledge which is Jackie Baillie's amendments which we support points out covers only 2% of the Scottish workforce it comes as no surprise that the trade union movement and wider civil society have been becoming increasingly vocal in their campaigns for enhanced employment protections yet it is not just the governments in Westminster who are attacking workers rights here here in Scotland the better than zero organisation have campaigned relentlessly to improve the already precarious working conditions of those employed in the hospitality industry to date they've put pressure on the G1 group said to be one of Scotland's largest companies in this sector to overcome and end stifling and oppressive practices such as forcing employees to pay for uniforms or spillages during their shifts and I applaud better than zero for their role in forcing the G1 group to cease their practice of offering zero-hours contracts to employees but it doesn't stop there and that leads me to the gig economy this is a curious phrase dreamt up no doubt by callus wannabe hipster seeking to conjure up some similes of youthfulness and carefree flexibility but despite their best efforts to soften this form of contractual working harsh reality is that it means people are employed in short-term contracts with no protection against unfair dismissal no right to redundancy payments and no right to receive the national minimum minimum wage paid holiday or sickness pay not exactly the happy-go-lucky imagery that one would expect however the language associated with the gig economy has been meticulously selected to undermine workers rights to take for instance one well-known courier company that has its own in-house vocabulary guide that openly eliminates workers rights instead of having employees workers or staff that has riders who are retained on supplier agreement rather than an employment contract such subtleties indicate that those delivering for this firm are having their employment status undercut thus denying the right to the minimum wage yet the company's chiefs do not deny it indeed one executive told the house of common Scottish affairs committee that the minimum wage is quote incompatible with their fee per delivery model clearly too often workers rights have been viewed as a trade-off with business performance as the only strategy that business knows to undercut through cost cutting but looking to countries like France and Germany the two key comparators to the UK both of these countries have far stronger employment protection in the UK and enjoy productivity levels about 29 per cent higher than us in conclusion we must learn from existing evidence that demonstrates that we can bolster our workforce and their rights by supporting them to flourish in the global and environmentally responsible economy the Scottish business pledge and the fair work framework can achieve this but need to be substantially strengthened to ensure that access to government support and funding is dependent on clear ethical and environmentally responsible business practices incorporated within them I move the amendment in my name we now move to the open debate and can I say that all the extra time that we had has been used up by the opening speakers so it's a really tight and absolutely no more than six minutes can we have Claire Hawke to be followed by Murdo Fraser please thank you, Presiding Officer the trade union movement has a proud history of protecting workers' rights worn out of a desire to combat exploitation and ensure a fair day's pay for a fair day's work from the great advances of the industrial revolution it was from a background of poor pay poor conditions and disregard for the value of workers' lives that the first workers cooperatives and unions grew a collective trade union is myself and a former trade union steward and divisional convener with Unison I know first hand the fantastic and vital work that trade unions do for their members and I refer members to my register of interests we in this chamber need to work with trade unions in maintaining and developing productive and safe workplaces and we must also look to develop and implement the innovative fair work agenda with the five dimensions of effective voice opportunity, security, fulfilment and respect are central to our working lives the fair work agenda looks to balance the rights and responsibilities of employers and workers while creating benefits for individuals, organisations and society it is unique in the world and shows that Scotland is at the forefront of productive workplace relations when we can create the conditions in which workers' skills and abilities are supported and developed opportunities for skills and abilities to be deployed fair work is proven to create high productivity, performance and innovation all of which contributes to a wealthier and more inclusive society Presiding Officer before we all entered this chamber to represent our constituencies back when we had normal jobs what did we value in our working lives a good salary beneficial work-life balance paid annual leave these and more are the products not of corporate benevolence although we should pay tribute to those many employers who look after their staff they are largely hard-won rights and benefits that we all have today because of the collective action of the trade union movement as Dave Mawkson, Deputy General Secretary of the STUC pointed out workplaces that have trade union recognition are likely to pay up to £53 a week more per worker and union members are also less likely to end up in an employment tribunal since in unionised environments disputes and grievances are more often settled before reaching that stage and unionised workplaces are safer workplaces but today in Tory Britain there are unprecedented threats to this movement following success of conservative administrative attacks union membership is less than half of when Margaret Thatcher came to power in 1979 employment is increasingly fragmented huge employers have been replaced by many small businesses with staff in the tens rather than the thousands the Westminster Government have also through the trade union act sought to hobble the ability of trade unions to exercise their power at the negotiating table to be the voice of the ordinary worker this is an attack which attacks the fundamental right to withdraw labour to strike at a time when industrial disputes are at an historic low in the words of the First Minister they are an attack on basic human rights the act requires a 50% turnout threshold for any action to be legal and that's even before the results have been counted it seeks to make taking strike action more difficult single out picket leaders to retaliatory actions by vindictive employers and impose more complicated membership rules and when it comes to taking a case through the employment tribunal this can cost ordinary workers up to £1,200 since these changes were introduced by the UK Government the number of people who have done so has collapsed with the total number of employment claims down to 61,000 in 2014-15 from 105,000 in 2013-14 when the changes were introduced when the Scottish Government gives devolved power over employment tribunals we again will see an SNP Government seek to help ordinary workers mopping up the Tory mess by abolishing these fees meaning people can take action if they have been poorly treated without the barrier of the cost in Scotland the SNP Government has given £2.2 million to support trade unions in accessing skills and lifelong learning opportunities giving trade unions £1.25 million to help them modernise and to offset some of the damage done by the UK legislation the support to mitigate the trade union bill has been welcomed by the STUC and General Secretary Graham Smith who commented that the Scottish Government has again demonstrated its commitment to positive industrial relationships through workplace democracy and the commitment to effective workplace relationships has borne fruit with the number of days in industrial disputes the lowest of all the UK nations down by 84 per cent since 2007 you only have to look at my own professional background of health to see the value of partnership working between employers trade unions and staff there are much fewer disputes industrial unrest and indeed industrial action than in other areas of the public sector and certainly much fewer industrial disputes than in NHS England the partnership model allows the sharing of information a development of relationships between the involved parties and for workers to be treated respectfully Presiding Officer, I support this motion because I support the alternative the only alternative to Tory attacks and that is the SNP's Government on-going commitment to empowerment and dignity of ordinary working people to uphold the rights of trade unions to represent their members and above all protecting human rights of all workers I call Martel Fraser to be followed by Bob Doris Thank you, Presiding Officer Can I start by putting this debate into some historical context? It's fair to say that the United Kingdom today enjoys generally good industrial relations but that has not always been the case I can well remember as a child the country suffering from the poor industrial relations of the 1970s when over powerful trade unions held this country to ransom and it culminated in the winter of discontent from 1978 to 1979 and was of course a key factor in ushering in Margaret Thatcher's Conservative Government Indeed, it is the memory of growing up in a cold and dark house with a power out thanks to the striking power workers which at least partly led me to an early interest in the Conservative Party Margaret Thatcher's Government pursued necessary trade union reform with widespread public support abolishing secondary picketing and clamping down on other abuses The consequence of those actions we see today where the UK has a very low level of industrial dispute compared to many other countries and a very stable level of industrial relations Now what government's role and I want to make some progress if I can what government's role in all this is to provide a balance of rights In the past I've been very happy to talk about the valuable role that trade unions play in our society many of the achievements in securing workers' rights in previous decades would not have been possible without the campaigning work of trade unions We should see trade unions as partners in progress in delivering safer working places and quality rights for workers not as political opponents and above all trade unions embody the very principle of fraternity with individuals banding themselves together in a common endeavour for the general good What could be more conservative than that Deputy Presiding Officer I suspect that when the SNP scheduled this debate they saw it as an opportunity to try and score some political points over the UK Conservative Government I could only imagine they did that scheduling in advance of the publication of the Conservative Party manifesto for the general election when it was published it must have come as a great disappointment to them because it makes it clear that workers' rights will be at the very heart of the next Conservative Government Yes, of course Keith Brown Can I thank Murdo Fraser for taking the intervention and also note his attack on picketing when he seemed happy to picket yesterday outside the SNP manifesto launch it was a bit more like picket fencing than anything else but on the point about workers' rights and fraternity does he think it's right that the Conservatives should impose a new tax on some employers who employ some workers is that not unequal and wrong and will he answer the question that Dean Lockhart failed to answer do you support the imposition of this and going to £2,000 tax on employers? Murdo Fraser I think it's a bit rich for a minister and the Government which has imposed a level of business rates on our largest businesses double the rate payable elsewhere in the United Kingdom to complain about higher taxes from anywhere else let me go back to the Conservative manifesto which the minister did not want to talk about what it commits to is a new deal for ordinary working people giving them a decent living wage to protect themselves in the workplace as well as fairer corporate governance built on new rules for takeovers executive pay and worker representation on company boards it sounds almost as if it could have been written by the TUC so not only will the next Conservative Government entrench EU employment rights in UK law but it is also committed to strengthening those rights so there are plans to legislate for bereavement leave to guarantee some peace of mind for bereaved parents and to legislate for new rights to request leave for training purposes representation for workers and company boards giving every employee a statutory right to receive information about key decisions affecting their company's future and the commitment to increase the national living wage in line with meeting and earnings until the end of the next Parliament in 2022 it is perhaps little wonder that the concerns over this part of the Conservative manifesto have come not from the trade unions or those representing workers but rather from the business community who believe that they go too far so the Conservative record and Conservative commitments for the future are there to protect and enhance workers' rights I listened with great interest to Jackie Baillie's contribution I need to make some progress I listened with great interest to Jackie Baillie's contribution it seemed to me that the rhetoric from Jackie Baillie this afternoon was uncharacteristic offer it was always like she was reading out Jeremy Corbyn's stump speech I was interested in the fact that Labour Party is going into this election with a commitment to abolish zero-hour contracts entirely I'm not sure that is a credible position when in the previous Parliament the Economy, Energy and Tourism Committee took evidence on these issues we heard from a lot of people in business that there is a role in a limited sense for zero-hour contracts let me give you an example the operators of Scotland's ski resort no they cannot possibly retain fully paid permanent staff throughout the season because their income will only derive on certain days of the year when there is snow so their workforce has to be largely employed on the basis of zero-hour contracts and it's the same for example in warmer weather with people who make ice cream and then sell it from ice cream vans it's an entirely weather dependent business I agree absolutely we should be addressing exploitative zero-hour contracts and in fact the UK Government has already banned the use of exclusively exclusivity clauses in zero-hour contracts despite the fact that the previous Labour Government did nothing at all to address that issue but if we're going to go further then the Labour benches need to tell us how they're going to deal with the situation in relation to the companies that I've outlined Presiding Officer can I finally just welcome the Taylor review that's been appointed to review the changing Labour market I think that illustrates how the Government is trying to address the fact that the Labour market is changing and I welcome the fact that we have a Government that is there to strike the right balance allowing industrial flexibility in needs to thrive and compete but at the same time ensuring that workers' rights are properly protected and extended where appropriate that is exactly what the future Conservative Government will be doing Bob Doris we followed by Neil Findlay Thank you very much Presiding Officer I can't get the image of a child in the 70s out my head Excuse me Mr Doris we don't want to miss any of your bon-mose can you put your microphone up Thank you Well time will tell on that What I was going to say was I'm trying to think in my head about Murdo Fraser as a child of the 70s with his wee candle lit to light up his house because of the power shortages and his wee his wee tartan blanket wrapped round him or maybe his wee union jack wrapped round him to keep warm and he was driven into the hands of Margaret Thatcher to do God knows what quite frankly but there were I can't get that image out my head but let's return to reality rather than Murdo Fraser I was contacted by a constituent before I knew this debate was scheduled in relation to their employment situation the constituent is a taxi driver I've not actually got permission to give the full details of their case here today so speaking some more general terms but needless to say I won't name the local authority that license is taxi firm or the taxi firm or any of those kind of details but you know my constituent has to pay a substantial rent to get the taxi they have to pay for a radio for that taxi they have to buy their fuel they're likely to be out six days a week maybe ten hours a day and they work out maybe they'll get £4.50 an hour that's what they'll come up with at the end of the day the so-called gig economy not working for my constituent they called it slave labour of course we've heard already in relation to what happens in relation to holiday pay for that what I would say exploited individual or in relation to if they're off ill in fact they made the point that they thought they find it incredibly difficult to claim working tax credits but they did give them the low level of their income I wanted to put that on the record because I think it would be odd if this debate was taken place I didn't mention that here today but there is a rather famous case of course of two drivers going to employment tribunal saying that they should not be deemed as self-employed but rather contracted workers and that findings in relation to national minimum wages should apply and holiday pay should apply and I wouldn't say too much more about that because of restrictions that we may be under in some of the rules of engagement in this debate today but the point that was made there was that perhaps transport for London for example could take a much more beefed up role in making sure when the licence certain companies they take a much more ethical view into how they licence those companies and I'm conscious we do 32 local authorities rather rules and regulations around there that could be brought into play to work for my constituent and others thought of a look bit more in relation to that particular sector in the west of Scotland and you can go online and you can see individuals advertising jobs for taxi drivers full time permanent job you would be self-employed you would just need your taxi badge you would have to go over 25 for insurance purposes experience preferred but not essential you will be required for day shift back shifts and night shifts over 7 days and you start to think well you know at what extent do you stop being self-employed and are you quite tightly contracted to do the to do a very specific job but contracted not necessarily with any of the protections that we'd expect in terms of respecting dignity within the workplace it's a I think we have to if I'm actually sure that if employment law was devolved to this institution that on a cross-party basis we would find a way of tackling that and dealing with that and legislating for that and transforming the sector whether it's taxi drivers or it's the person that turns up to deliver your pizza or your Chinese meal of an evening working goodness knows how many hours the debate with most people in this Parliament isn't whether we should tackle it it's about whether it should be tackled in this place or whether it should be tackled in London unfortunately I'm left with the feeling that the Tories just don't want to tackle it at all and I would say shame on them shame on them in relation to that now I want to move on to another area that I think has to be said it's not just about your right whilst you're in employment you're right to try and get a job in the first place and it's in that context again I have to mention the job centre closures that look as if they're going to be swept right across Scotland including half the job centres in my city including my local job centre in Maryhill job centres used to be thought of ways of encouraging people into employment where is your right to work if you feel a job centre is an oppressive place rather than a supportive place and I know of many good quality job centre staff that feel the same way as well and the final thing I would say in terms of the right to work and I talked from family and friend experience over many years and it's the connection between those who are claiming disability benefits who are almost terrified sometimes to get back into employment because they're not actually sure if they have the confidence or the physical ability to do that but they really worry about taking a punt back into employment because if it all breaks down they don't necessarily go back on to the same level of disability benefits that were on before so when we talk about the world of work and the right to work let's make sure it's not just about workers' rights and employment but those vulnerable people in the fringes society that are trying to get into the labour market in the first place I call Neil Findlay to be followed by Mary Todd I declare an interest to the member if you unite the union and the EIS in a week's time the people of this country have the greatest opportunity since 1945 to vote for a programme of change that will radically improve the lives of working people rebuilding our society in 1945 after a decade of war an eye-watering austerity the elderly government built one million council houses it created full employment and established the national health service the greatest social policy ever introduced this manifesto published a few weeks ago is built on the very same principles of that great transformative manifesto of 45 principles of community of co-operation, equality, justice and solidarity and let me say very clearly when that was published I have never been more proud to be a member of my party and in the world of work where we see too many people and their families suffering through low pay job insecurity and an attack on their rights Labour's manifesto will deliver fairness, justice, opportunity and most of all it will deliver hope we will again put full employment at the centre as our key economic goal with £20 billion coming to Scotland via a national investment bank will ensure that workers whether part-time temporary or full-time will have equal rights in the workplace will end the job insecurity of not knowing whether from one day to the next you have a wage by banning zero hours contracts so that every worker who wants to get it has a guaranteed number of hours each week will stop agencies exploiting local and migrant Labour ensuring that any employer wishing to recruit Labour from abroad will end the cut workers at home because it creates division in our communities pitching worker against worker and will repeal the trade union act because it is the right and fair thing to do because an organised workforce is a better paid, safer and healthier workforce will introduce four new bank qualities there you go Mr Fraser how do you feel about that will amend the takeover code to ensure every takeover proposal has a clear plan in place to protect workers and pensioners workers shouldn't suffer when a company is sold we will end unpaid internships abolish tribunal freeze across the UK double paid paternity leave to four weeks and increased paternity pay because fathers and parents deserve to spend more time with their newborn will strengthen protections for women against unfair redundancy because no one should ever be penalised for having children hold a public inquiry into blacklisting and will remain a thing of the past and will use the spending powers of procurement to drive up standards end low pay and recognise trade unions certainly Jamie Greene sorry to interrupt the member's party political broadcast here but can he tell me how much of all this is going to cost because he's leader can't Neil Findlay every single bit of it is costied in the Labour manifesto every single bit of it and can I tell the member the only numbers in the Tory manifesto are page numbers on it Presiding Officer, the party that introduced the national minimum wage when SNP MPs went to bed instead of waiting up to vote for it and Tories fought tooth and nail against it will increase it to £10 an hour given a pay increase to half a million Scots and will end the cap when public sector pay ensure their nurses, binmen, housing staff classroom assistants and others see the end of years of pay cuts and phrases and of course the greatest pro worker policy of all will see the end of austerity as a UK and Scottish Government economic policy Presiding Officer, you haven't seen much of Theresa May in this election I think she's been locked in a cupboard in Tory HQ to prevent her from meeting the voters but in one of her rare sightings she claimed that Tories were the party of working people the party of the bedroom tax the party of the rape clause the party of the poll tax the party of the trade union bill of privatisation the party of greed of the me here in now society claiming to stand up for working people it's enough to make a pig vomit and in Scotland the SNP's manifesto says that it will press the UK Government to do this and they'll press them to do that and they'll press them to do the next thing working people don't need a pressure group they need a government that's going to change their lives giving their communities back hope and optimism and a belief that no one will be left behind a government acting in the interests of the many not the few a government with care and compassion at its heart Presiding Officer, this manifesto is a programme that will renew our communities and society to have the chance to change our country for the better urge every single voter to get out there on June 8 vote Labour and reject their policies of division and despair I call Marie Todd to be followed by Mike Rumbles Thank you Presiding Officer trade unions are a vital part of our society and like most people in Scotland I recognise the importance of trade unions to our workforce 32 per cent of Scottish employees were members of trade unions being a member of a trade union tends to benefit employees but it benefits employers too Evidence shows that unionised workplaces have more engaged staff and a higher level of staff training they have a progressive approach to staff wellbeing and in addition to the staff being better paid that makes for a better and more productive workplace not only do unions challenge low pay they challenge the gender pay gap too so across the UK in 2015 employees who were trade union members earned on average 14 per cent more than non members and that difference was more pronounced amongst women who earned on average 24.6 per cent more if they were a member of a trade union that's why supporting and protecting unions is vital I was appalled by the UK's Government's trade union act which became law last year and the Scottish Government has made clear its opposition to this pernicious act the act seeks to undermine the role of trade unions in the labour market and make it easier for employers to undermine the rights of millions of workers who are currently represented by unions it seeks to undermine the fundamental human right of employees to withdraw their labour a right that's enshrined in a range of international conventions such as the universal declaration of human rights and the European convention it's an attack on those workers and it will make it considerably more difficult for employees to have their voices heard thankfully in this country we have a Scottish Government that's working to take Scotland in a better direction using the powers that they have at their disposal to mitigate the damage from Tory Government legislation or where possible alter the direction of travel so I welcome the 2.2 billion that the Scottish Government provided for unions in accessing skills and lifelong learning opportunities that contribute to collective prosperity to fairness and to equality for workers across Scotland I look forward to the devolution of power over tribunals I'd like more power over employment law to be devolved the Scottish Government have said that they will abolish those tribunal fees and since 2013, as others have said when the tribunal fees were introduced we've seen a number of claims that the employment tribunal dramatically declined almost definitely because of the prohibitive costs which can be up to 1,200 a case Liam Kerr I'd just like to develop that point Moretodd, are you able to tell us what proportion of the reduction in tribunal claims is a function of the introduction of tribunal fees and what is a function of the introduction of mandatory ACAS conciliation? Moretodd There's certainly a correlation between the introduction of a charge and there's no doubt there's absolutely no doubt that the act introduced last year is an attack on workers' rights I also welcome the further quarter of a million that's been invested in the trade union modernisation fund to support the modernisation of trade unions and to help mitigate the negative impacts of UK legislation though as is always the case when it comes to mitigating Tory government legislation it is deeply disappointing to me that it's even necessary to do so we need to understand and commit to the idea of fair work and not let the Tories take us along in their pursuit of deregulation and low wages, particularly post Brexit and I agree with the Labour amendment all EU derived workplace laws must be fully protected post Brexit in order to do that we've got the fair work framework which sets out five conditions for a fairer working environment to provide opportunity, security, fulfilment, respect and an effective voice to workers we've seen a dramatic rise in in-work poverty since the Tories and the Lib Dems went into government in 2010 but where employees have greater job security and sufficient income fewer people have to turn to welfare and the country benefits from increased tax revenues this makes economic sense when employees have fulfilling work it gives them greater self-worth and a sense of purpose which improves both physical and mental health where employees have an effective voice it can improve workplace relationships creating a positive work environment which feeds into productivity and the wellbeing of employees everyone would want those things from their own work to value your work to feel valued yourself to feel secure in your job and to feel that you have a voice and to have the opportunity to grow and develop through work those are things we all want so I think that ambition for workers in Scotland to have all of those things is right and I think it should be shared by all of us the Scottish Government have endorsed the fair work framework and I hope that over the coming years we are able to take that forward and do that I will just finish by mentioning a meeting that I had recently with a group of Norwegian trade unionists their catch work word was co-operation workers in Norway are recognised as essential to the success of enterprise so management and workers co-operate to improve their businesses I have to say it is not the only time I have felt a great sense of admiration for the Scandinavians I am sure that we in this chamber are keen to work together in partnership to fulfil the ambitions of the fair work framework and to provide secure and meaningful work for employees in Scotland I call Mike Rumbles to be followed by Christina McKelvie I would like to start by saying that the Scottish Liberal Democrats will support the Scottish Government's motion today Scottish Government's fair work agenda has sensible aspirations promoting dialogue introducing inequality securing sustainable economic growth of course words must be matched by actions the SNP's Government record in this respect is patchy let's say take the living wage it should become the norm the living wage should be paid for all public services regrettably Scottish Government twice voted against similar proposals during the last parliament and the Scottish Government has levers to encourage its payment in the private sector too Jackie Baillie Andy Wightman have already mentioned the huge amounts of public money given to a company by the Scottish Government in return for this financial assistance the Scottish Government could have expected them to pay the living wage not £1 below it in return the Scottish Government could also have asked them to guarantee working conditions and this of course is the subject of let's say considerable controversy if the SNP is serious about standing up for fair employment it should agree to stop dishing out millions of pounds to multinational companies that pay low wages the Scottish Government controls the pay of thousands of public servants too just three weeks ago in this chamber SNP members were given the opportunity to commit to a real terms pay rise in NHS staff they refused it many public services are already struggling to recruit the staff they need living standards are falling and public sector workers are going to food banks Liberal Democrats are clear it is time to end years of pay restraint for the public sector lifting the 1% cap on the pay of nurses teachers, police and others we would at great wages in line with inflation would the member acknowledge that his party was in government when the pay cap was introduced for goodness sake time moves on and we certainly realise that it needs to be lifted now of course it does others do not realise that in fact including your own party our pay boost would apply to all public sector workers in Scotland either directly or through Barnett consequentials which would allow the Scottish Government to raise the pay of all public workers this would lead to an estimated pay rise of £780 for an average public sector worker by 2021 compare that to the Conservatives public sector pay cap and Brexit squeeze that's years of pitiful increases strong public services require paying workers properly most employers do recognise the long term value in treating their employees decently those that exploit workers, hurt individuals and undermine the competitive position of good employers everyone should share in our prosperity that's why the Liberal Democrats also want new transparency requirements on larger employers about what they pay their staff modern employment rights for the modern economy more employee ownership with new rights to request shares staff representation at the top of companies and to stamp out abuse of zero hours contracts we will create a formal right to request a fixed contract and will consult on introducing a right to make regular patterns of work contractual after a period of time Deputy Presiding Officer the failure of Theresa May's Government to guarantee the rights of EU nationals already working and living here is shameful she's even in my view outkipping UKIP on this one however much Ruth Davidson's Conservatives may wish to differentiate themselves when it suits the truth is that they are squarely behind Theresa May's miserable cold-hearted agenda to just give one example 1,000 doctors across the national health service their rights haven't been guaranteed and I know some are leaving now because they are concerned about this the loss of these workers for sector somewhere health service to tourism, agriculture and food and drink would be catastrophic but Theresa May doesn't seem to care the Liberal Democrats would end that uncertainty immediately and unilaterally guarantee their rights it's in our own interests it's in their interests it's in everybody's interests to do that finally this Parliament has condemned the trade union act on a number of occasions I'm happy to do so again today it's fundamentally failed to recognise the job of protecting and enhancing workers' rights resolving disputes and increasing productivity it says something when David Davis of all people now Brexit Secretary describes some sections of the bill as being reminiscent of Franco's Spain Deputy Presiding Officer the election next week is the chance to change the direction of our country we need to give all our workers a brighter future where people are decent to each other and treated with respect as opposed to Theresa May's cold mean spirited inward looking Britain the political dividers of our time would leave our country worse off that is why the Liberal Democrats will continue to make the case openness, tolerance and unity principles that have underpinned generations of progress in improving workers' rights Thank you Mr Rumbles I call Christina McKelvie to follow by Michelle Ballantyne Mr McKelvie, please Thank you very much Presiding Officer the trade union movement was a natural place for any activist to begin their fight against inequality and injustice and it is that same fight the fight against intolerance and unfairness every day to fight on behalf of the constituents in my constituency at Hamilton Larkhall in Stonehouse whether in work or not being within the trade union movement offers a voice a voice to stand in unity within the union with colleagues and to fight against discrimination and persecution and make no mistake about it workers have been persecuted over the years no more so than by the UK Conservative Government and its Anti-Trade Union Act because that is exactly what both this legislation and what the Tory party are as an entity Anti-Trade Union The trade union act as we have heard is a pernicious piece of legislation which seeks to undermine collective solidarity which seeks to restrict fundamental rights the human rights of workers to withdraw their labour I am proud to say that this Scottish Government and our SNP colleagues at Westminster oppose this legislation every step of the way and let me be clear not only has the Scottish Government mitigated some aspects of this act today I further reiterate the call for this act to go for workers to be allowed to organise collectivise and freely exercise their human right to withdraw their labour from the minimum wage increased and enhanced by this Government living wage not the fake one to the EU working time directive now under threat from a reckless hard Brexit Conservative Government trade unions continue to be at the forefront of striving for decent employment practices and the enhancement of working conditions for all it is with that same spirit and righteousness that we have to defend our workers rights particularly against the unrelenting pursuit of a hard Tory Brexit party rights to paid holidays the EU underpin those working rights so no, Presiding Officer I do not believe nor recognise the Conservative amendment today which believes the UK Government will somehow now transform into the party of working people and ensure working rights of millions in a post-Brexit Britain most of us in this chamber don't believe them and most of the United Kingdom don't believe them either Presiding Officer simply put workers rights are human rights a simple declaration but one of virtue and truth and it's this Scottish Government that has worked with our partners in the trade union movement and shown commitment to these rights the fair work convention and fair work framework are testament to this an agreed framework which values respect which values people and wellbeing over greed that there is a clear message from the framework by 2025 in Scotland your working conditions will be underpinned by the values of fairness, wellbeing and respect not exploited, unregulated or unequal that a fairer working environment will be created by providing opportunity security, fulfilment respect and an effective voice for every working person in Scotland as the nature of work changes and make no mistake it has changed and we recognise that today this government, the Scottish Government stands ready to listen and act and this government has acted against the anti-trade union bill ensured that those bidding for public contracts must adhere to fair work practice refuse to employ anyone directly through the use of zero hours contracts that's our government but I still hope that they will listen and act even further and I will listen to the likes of the better than zero campaign a vibrant young member led organisation that breaks the mould it leads the way in holding to account bad bosses on shining a light on poor employment practices on educating our young people about their rights within the workforce better than zero an example of what can be achieved through the dynamism of youth maybe some of us should try it through the fearlessness of spirit using flash mobs, creativeness song and sound these young people have defined how the trade union movement should respond to the changing nature of work Presiding officer it's far too easy and many of us say in this chamber young people are our future young people are our now and the under 25s in our country are discriminated over and over and over again whether it's in work and practices whether it's in the living wage whether it's in the minimum wage whether it's housing benefit they're discriminated against all the time by this UK Government now they cannae stand here and say they're sticking up for workers rights when they do that to every young person under the age of 25 I'm sorry Presiding officer these young people are the apprentice or the administrator the student or the stylist and this is a government that knows that they've heard a lot about it today this is precisely why it will consult on extending free bus pass scheme to apprentices and precisely why they have pledged in a manifesto to back a transition over the next parliamentary term towards payment of the real living wage as a new minimum legal grant to all adults over the age of 18 not 25 from our young people to our aged the Scottish Government has been proud to stand alongside workers every creed, nationality and religion especially our colleagues, friends and neighbours who are EU nationals let me reiterate workers rights are human rights and I urge this Government and the UK Government to be at the forefront of defending and expanding them all to our workers in Scotland thank you very much next speaker be Michelle Ballantyne followed by Stuart Stevenson I welcome you here we've been on platforms often together not with the same point of view welcome you back anyway thank you can I first declare an interest as an employer in my capacity as a director of Ballantyne's Walk-A-Burn I'm also a director of two charitable trusts and an employee of a third I'm also an elective member councillor on Scottish Broders Council last week as I entered the chamber for the first time my father reminded me of the letters we had exchanged many years ago when I was complaining that my beloved NHS needed reforming or it was going to run into real difficulties he had written back replying that the only way I could ever really bring about change was to become a politician my response was polite but firm hell was definitely going to freeze over first but in 2009 my local councillor Gavin Logan saw fit to persuade me that I should join the Conservative Party and run for council but Gavin may be disappointed to learn that it was in fact during the general election of February 1974 that I first stood as a candidate I was of course just a child then it was the mock election at my primary school I was the candidate for the PLP Prevent litter party and I'm delighted to report that I felt campaigning one the day and presented us with the honour of implementing our promises for one year I learned a valuable lesson making promises was easy delivering results was the real challenge after a year of picking up litter and trying to convince people not to drop it in the first place I understood that you can only get results if your promises are realistic if everyone works together and we share the responsibility for our world the laws we make and the messages we send out from this chamber should be ones that support rights and responsibilities whether you are an employer or an employee they should encourage enterprise reward endeavour and support success because you do not protect the vulnerable in society by penalising that success as a nurse and then in management I spent 36 years working in the NHS and the third sector whilst 27 years ago my husband and I set up a manufacturing company and in doing so experienced the real challenge of creating the wealth that drives our economy and funds the public services that I hold so dear it is with these many years of experience working in the public, private and third sector both as an employee and employer of working with the unions and of putting my money where my mouth is taking a risk and building a company even when in times of difficulty people are counting on you to find the money to pay their salaries and wages that they have earned that I can say I am proud of the record that the United Kingdom has so far in protecting workers rights because the truth is that private enterprise is the backbone of any promise that a government makes and it is the partnership between employer and employee that makes business successful John Lintz an American politician once said we will not agree on every issue but let us respect those differences and respect one another let us recognise that we do not serve an ideology or a political party we serve the people to me that is the backbone of what politics is about everyone wants the best for our country and our communities what makes us different is how we believe we can achieve the best outcome for the people we serve when I stood in my first mock election the United Kingdom had only just joined the European Union now I enter Parliament as we prepare to leave across this nation regardless of political affiliation there are those who believe that leaving the EU is a positive step and recognise that the laws we make to protect workers rights are laws of our kingdom because we as a nation support them they are not forced upon us by others they are bought about in recognition that economic productivity and growth is best served by a society that is motivated and wants to succeed we must build a society that encourages individuals to employ others all too often now I hear people say that they don't want to grow their businesses and have to employ people because of the burdens and risk our laws must be balanced so that a worker is protected from being exploited by unscrupulous employers but it must also provide protection for the employer and consumer who is responsible for or reliant on that service or product being delivered employers, employees and consumers are mutually dependent a perfect circle that must not be broken by political ideology as Winston Churchill said the truth is incontrovertible malice may attack it ignorance may deride it but in the end there it is I am truly honoured to have been given a voice in this Parliament and in serving the people of this country I will do my utmost to ensure that it is a voice of rational balanced argument that seeks to embrace our democracy as it is not the things that we have in common that make us stronger it is the ability to debate and embrace our differences thank you for listening I look forward to working with all of you I now call Stuart Stevenson to be followed by Graham Simpson Mr Stevenson please I congratulate Michelle Valentine on her first speech today I see she attracted a large and appreciative audience for it at least on her own benches I do well remember my own first speech here in June 2001 like Michelle Valentine I joined at a late period not at the election half way through the midterm can I wish her every success in her time here short of actual victory that is and I look forward to hearing a speech from her that I can agree with in full I know what she said and I think I quote correctly the only way to achieve changes through politics I sincerely hope that's not true and in particular in the context of today's debate I believe that it's also possible to achieve useful change through trade union activity that's another very important way indeed although we're here today to discuss protecting workers' rights on a single day it's something to which we should pay continuous attention in particular our colleagues on the Tory benches I don't think we could reasonably describe as the natural friends of workers the deletions today that we see the Tory amendment seeking to make to the motion perhaps illustrate that their unconcerned about the impact their particular plans of how we should leave the EU will impact on workers as indeed more broadly we clearly wish to see a continuation of the very substantial fees workers endure when they go to employment tribunals that is something where those who have leased are being asked to contribute most for their own justice in general they seek to defend their pernicious trade union act of 2016 I find that I can agree with Labour colleagues here even during an election I recognise that good sense has been articulated by an opponent today when they consider that the EU derived workplace laws must be fully protected and I absolutely support that and when the Greens call for environmentally responsible business practices not something that the Tories sign up for I cite as an example the cancellation of an important and would have been a major employer projects such as the carbon capture project in Peterhead again I find common cause with colleagues beside me so let's talk about trade unions during my working life before Parliament I was a member of the banking insurance and finance union I confess I was not an active member I simply paid my sub as someone who wanted to know that the union was there should I ever need them but I hoped that I never would and when I became a manager sitting the other side of the desk opposite union discussing activities in our company I remained a member of the union so let's have a look at the provisions of the Tory act which attracts trade unions very specifically section 2 requires a 50% turnout of eligible voters for any ballot for industrial action now if that were a principal position it would apply just for example to local authority elections and of course it doesn't doesn't apply anywhere else in fact if it did apply to local authority elections half of Tory councillors would not be in office that's quite tempting I must say in its own way but then there's section 3 requires that 40% of the eligible voters have to vote to strike and that is an extremely challenging position to be in as those of us who campaigned in 1979 for the Scottish Assembly act were aware the George Cunningham amendment which made it 40% of the amendment and again if we apply that rule to local government that would probably mean the Tories having no councillors at all now that is extremely tempting indeed I must say but there is a matter of principle here it seriously illustrates that the objective is to neuter trade unions not to protect workers rights I mean look at further at some of the things that they brought the check off system the loss of facility time there is substantial evidence of course and we've had reference to it already that trade unions are contributors to the success of businesses, companies and public services where there are unions as part of the decision making better decision making results and success for the enterprise can follow from that the RCN in particular science research goes back a while but it's been endorsed subsequently showing lower leaving rates in unionised businesses, lower use of employment tribunals, lower workplace injuries and less illness that's a pretty good return for shared decision making across all who work in an organisation through the involvement of trade unions I've been talking about last year's trade union act, I'll simply close by saying that there's evidence here as well the emergency workers protection act was introduced to create additional protections to some of the most important of our public services there's a passionate and informed debate in this place we on these benches supported this bill introduced by the Labour-Lib Dem coalition when it came here but when our parliament voted on the general principles of the bill on 30 September 2004 I think seven of us who are still in this parliament were present only one of those voted against guess who, it was Murdo Fraser once again depriving workers of proper rights then as now the leopard never changes its spots the Tories will never work in the interests of workers Thank you Mr Steamson I call Graeham Simpson to be followed by Joan McAlpine Mr McAlpine will be the last speaker in the open debate Mr Simpson please Thank you deputy I also congratulate Michelle Ballantyne on her excellent first speech in this chamber the issue of workers rights affects most of us and is important so it's right that we debate it as always it provokes strong views and we've heard some of them today. I want today to focus on the trade union aspect of the Government's motion and I speak as a former union rep with a reputation for fiercely defending my members and a former though brief member of the national union of journalists not the body I was a rep for a body that I felt did not do a particularly good job and was certainly when I was a member in the 1980s fell to write on and politically correct so workers rights and unions everyone should have rights in the workplace but they also have responsibilities workers deserve to be looked after but so do employers and when we're talking about the public sector then so do the people served by those who work in it there's been a lot of heat around the trade union act valuable institutions and dedicated trade unionists have a strong history of working hard to represent their members as they should they campaign for improved safety at work and better conditions they support those who need it and give invaluable advice I've seen the good work they do as an employee and as a former councillor where I've seen some excellent public sector union reps it's only fair however that the rights of unions are balanced with the rights of hard working tax payers who rely on key public services the aim of the act is to rebalance the interests of employers, employees and the public with the freedom of trade union members to strike it was previously the case that a small minority of union members could disrupt the lives of millions of commuters, parents workers and employers at short notice and without clear support from the unions members because of the high impact on the normal life of a large group of people it's my view that strikes should only take place on the basis of a reasonable turnout and substantial vote in favour by those able to vote we've seen in the past strikes take place on the back of the votes of a fraction of union members strike in the education sector in 2014 organised by the national union of teachers was held on the support of just 22% of their members the PCS union which frequently caused strikes amongst its members in civil service has never achieved a 50% turnout on a national ballot now critics argued the act would make new legal strikes next to impossible but that's not true post office workers voted a go on strike in a row over branch closures job cuts and pensions 83.2% voted in favour of industrial action on the 50% turnout I want to mention one other aspect of the act public sector employers and some in the private sector with at least one trade union official will be required to publish 30 time information the amount spent on paid time off for union duties and activities I've enjoyed that myself as a union rep it's entirely right that we shine a light on this deputy presiding officer union reps in the public sector tend to be actually employed to do other jobs most don't abuse the facility where they can take time off to perform union duties but some do and I've seen it in the case no I want to make this point no I'm going to make a point in the case of one teacher it actually hampered the smooth running of the school in South Lanarkshire where she was meant to be working Neil Findlay what does he say about colleagues one of him is a football referee who takes time off to be here performing his parliamentary duties I do wish Neil Findlay would stick to the point which is about union reps taking time off if this is not just an SNP stunt the usual Westminster wrong SNP right diatribe then we need to ask what the effect of repealing the act would be making strikes easier most of it democratic more waste of public funds be careful what you wish for deputy presiding officer let me just briefly touch on two other aspects of the government's motion fair work and leaving the EU I had a quick look at the fair work convention summary report didn't take me long aside from statements of the blinding the obvious such as work should be fair and that fair work should be available to everyone no matter who they are it was 32 pages of waffle and pretty vague which brings me on to the EU and here's the simple fact that the SNP hates the Prime Minister has clearly said that when we leave the EU workers' rights will be fully protected and maintained that's something the SNP may not like deputy presiding officer the Government's motion gets it right in recognising the role unions can play the rest leaves much to be desired thank you Mr Simpson I call Joan McAlpine the last speaker of the day we moved to closing speeches after that Mr McAlpine thank you very much can I too congratulate Michelle Ballantine on her first speech to the chamber today the problem that we face today is stark once again we found ourselves discussing how to defend the people of Scotland from the actions of the UK Government this is not what I or other members of this Parliament would choose to do with our time but it's necessary I would prefer to stand here and demand further progress and I want to be part of a legislature that can significantly expand workers' rights and add further to protections to what we have not continually be looking for more ways to mitigate reactionary policies of Westminster the Tread Union act of 2016 was rejected by this Parliament and attacks the fundamental rights of workers in these islands and a bit to mitigate the effects of the bill the Scottish Government has provided £2.2 million to support trade unions in accessing skills and lifelong learning opportunities but some things cannot be fixed within the current limited powers of the Scottish Parliament alone I wish this was the only such case but instead it sits alongside the UK Government's pursuit of a hard breath and the defiance of the people and Parliament of Scotland the bottom line is simple leaving the EU will result in people losing their jobs and their employment rights currently the EU's safeguard Scottish worker rights to a paid holiday and to protect women's rights during pregnancy notably by giving women the right to statutory paid maternity leave and the right to take paid time off work to attend anti-natal examinations and there are further important protections on the basis of age, religion, belief or sexual orientation many protections we currently enjoy rely on co-operation between member states such as access to pensions across borders that's just one example the posted workers directive of 1996 guarantees a minimum level of effective protection to temporary workers posted to another member state and as of last year the directive is being revised after a campaign by the European Trade Union Congress to make it even stronger other members have mentioned the gig economy as we speak the court of justice of the European Union is contemplating whether Uber is a transport form with the obligations that come with that on an electronic firm the non binding opinion of the advocate general is that Uber will need licences like any other taxi company we do not yet know the final opinion of the court but what is clear is that the end result will be important to protecting the rights of workers in the digital age these are all significant in their own right and the UK government has in the white paper for the great repeal bill committed to not only replicate EU employment rights but to further enhance the rights that people have at work that has come from Theresa May as the last speaker said I am a bit sceptical about statements that the Prime Minister has made after all she told us that there wasn't going to be a general election she changed her mind on that she changed her mind on her own budget she changed her mind on her own manifesto recently so I don't really put very much confidence behind what Theresa May promises the nation the real purpose of the great repeal bill for the Brexiteers and the Tory party and the Tory Remainers who have displayed a convert sale for Brexit since last summer is clearly not increasing workers rights the desire to remove the UK from oversight by the European Court of Justice is because it is an obstacle to the removal of those rights after all the EU's much maligned court does not prevent member states such as the UK passing employment laws which confer a higher level of protection on workers and in many cases directives state this explicitly but the UK is already one of the most deregulated labour markets in the EU and indeed the world the UK is ranked 31 out of 34 developed nations by the OECD for levels of employment protection for individual and collective dismissals other countries in the EU do far more than we do to actively encourage trade union organisation in Sweden membership of trade unions is around 70 per cent and the same is true of Denmark and Finland it might be useful briefly to look at how they do things in one of those countries Denmark, the Danish system has its roots in the early 20th century and means that collective bargaining is done a sectoral level giving the trade union federation and the largest employer organisation a central role in the Danish industrial relations system the wage systems that are the result of these negotiations allow for flexibility where appropriate while still protecting the rights of individual members and the effectiveness of this system was recognised by the 2016 international trade union confederation which ranked Denmark amongst the top countries for protecting workers' rights the collective bargaining structure that stems from this high level of membership is one of the main reasons that incoming inequality is so much lower don't take my word for it this is well documented and debated on the OECD's measure of genuine coefficient of disposable income inequality Denmark came third and the UK came 29th why would we want to curb union power and reduce standards even further we should be aiming to come up to the level of employee protection as our partners in Europe such as Denmark instead of moving away from them in conclusion a better future would be to chart a course for this Parliament and nation where it's no longer necessary to spend our days debating how best to mitigate the policies of Westminster as an independent nation with membership of the EU we could work to enhance workers' rights and improve their lives rather than be dragged along in a race to the bottom that prutes profits before people thank you very much before I move to closing speeches two members are not back in the chamber Neil Findlay and Christina McKelvie took part in the debate no doubt they'll send the appropriate note to the Presiding Officers remove Mr McKelvie from that but Mr Findlay who took an active part in the debate is disappointing he's not bothered to come for the summing up I'd like to hear what he has to say by way of an apology to the Presiding Officers closing speeches are called Patrick Harvie Mr Harvie six minutes please thank you very much I'd like to declare my associate membership of the National Union of Journalists and for completeness the fact that my party is a tenant of the S2UC difficult though it was to restrain the instinct to intervene or heckle for seven minutes all I'll do is congratulate Michelle Ballantyne on making her first speech Jamie Hepburn said that the Scottish Government seeks to protect the rights of all workers and ensure that all workers are in practice able to access their rights and I think we should acknowledge that we are still some significant distance away from that being a reality for all people working in Scotland whether we choose to blame the UK Government or take responsibility here the Scottish Government should be commended at least for some of the basic facts of reality the distinction between the Conservatives fake living wage and the real living wage and the need to place an expectation on employers on certain standards of ethical behaviour in the way that they treat their workers but as I've made the case in the past there is a lot more that we can do and if the Scottish Government is supporting our amendment today we hope to see that happen in future to add conditionality to the provision of taxpayer funded support services grant and loan schemes and so on to ensure that they require companies to sign up to that basic ethical standard I think that many of us have recognised that there has been little progress on the business pledge but it has potential I did find it strange though to hear the Conservative Party most happily pointing out how few businesses are choosing to sign up to this ethical standard of treatment they make the case for a greater level of compulsion or at least for conditionality if they themselves acknowledge that very few businesses are willing by choice to sign up to these standards I give way Dean Lockhart I'm not sure if Mr Harvey has actually read the business pledge because it is so vague and it is very unclear what businesses he's actually signing up to that if you were in business you'd be very reluctant to sign up to the business pledge because it is nonsensical Patrick Harvie I have made many suggestions in the past and will do so again to give it additional teeth additional clarity and I look forward to hearing Dean Lockhart's enthusiastic support for those proposals such as maximum tax compliance the avoidance of any use of tax havens low pay ratios between the lowest and highest paid employees in an organisation those additions to the business pledge would give it additional teeth and reality the Conservatives also say that they are lifting the lowest paid workers out of tax and personal tax allowance despite the reality that the bulk of the cost of that policy to the taxpayer, to the Exchequer goes to high income households and the lowest earners in our society gain nothing at all from it and their latest ploy the freedom that workers will have to go for a whole year without pay at all in order to look after family members who have been ignored and abandoned by the social care system they say that in future EU rights at work will be protected and Graham Simpson says that the Prime Minister has made this commitment as we just heard a moment ago this is the Prime Minister who flip-flopped on Brexit flip-flopped on an election flip-flopped on social care flip-flopped on the support for child refugees we know precisely how strong and stable the Prime Minister is and it's not particularly impressive this commitment sits uneasily with what we've heard from other Conservative voices at UK level Philip Davis for example, repeatedly year after year saying disabled people should be paid less than the minimum wage others like Jacob Rees-Mogg calling for a slashing of environmental and safety standards and Mr Ledsom what's her name whatever her name is Mr Ledsom a cabinet minister I envisage there being absolutely no regulation whatsoever no minimum wage, no maternity or paternity rights no unfair dismissal rights no pension rights for the smallest companies that are trying to get off the ground in order to give them a chance well they might well have a chance but what chance would their employees have stripped of every single one of those rights that Andrea Ledsom wishes to remove from them and finally on Brexit finally on Brexit when capital is free to move people are not free to move that can only be a recipe for even deeper labour market exploitation than we see in today's economy the green case for additional requirements on the Government's support services to companies and on ensuring that we address the condition of workers in what is coming to be called the gig economy I hope we'll get support across the chamber one of the early green debates that I remember during my first session in this Parliament we were making the case for wider economic measures beyond GDP, looking at quality of life and I remember a Labour MSP it could have come from any party across the chamber saying having a job gives you dignity having money gives you quality of life this notion that employment work is the best or only route out of poverty it's not enough unless we ensure that work is decent, secure, safe healthy to do and provided by an employer that respects family life finally Deputy Presiding Officer Mardo Fraser told us about the good record that this country has on industrial relations what he means is fewer strikes where workers are punished as they are today for organising in unions unable to take collective action that is not an expression of good industrial relations rather it represents successful industrial exploitation that not only the trade union act but also the actions of companies in the gig economy are making this a reality as the Slaveroo campaign and the better than zero campaign are making clear there has been greater progress towards workers rights but it can be achieved by government action but the lesson of history seems that it is unlikely to be that route alone unless the option exists for people to organise together and to take collective industrial action in defence of their interests and I support the amendment in Andy Wightman's name I call on Richard Leonard to close for Labour six minutes please Mr Leonard Thanks Deputy Presiding Officer and can I congratulate Michelle Ballantyne on what I thought was a very accomplished first speech and I look forward to hearing more of her speeches in the month ahead can I also refer members to my register of members' interests especially my trade union membership of the GMB and Unite let me begin by saying that I think we need to contemplate what faces us over the next eight days because on one side we have a party prepared to use all the apparatus of the state Parliament the judiciary and the court once again all being marshaled to close down legitimate and democratic trade union activity I could be talking about the combination act of the 18th and 19th century of the trade disputes and trade union act of 1927 I could for myrdo phrases benefit be talking about the minor strike 30 years ago and I hope that people do not forget the brutality of those years the deindustrialisation from which many of our communities have never recovered but for the avoidance of doubt I am describing the trade union act of 2016 which came into force in this country just 90 days ago the ink not yet dry on the latest crude attempt by a Tory Government the latest in a long line of crude attempts by Tory governments down the years to suppress the rights the aspirations of working people and so to secure through legislative means and I do not use this term lightly the domination of one class by the other because to the SNP members who have spoken in this debate on workers rights I say that the real division in society is not between Scotland and England it's between those who own the wealth and those who through their hard work never create the wealth that's the real division and that is why democratic socialist solutions are more relevant now than they ever were and it's also the reason why nationalism as a political creed is a wholly insufficient answer and it's why in the Labour amendment we are critical of the Scottish Government's approach in relying on voluntary agreements through the Scottish business pledge of the dissufficiency of the Government's political thinking in graphic economic practice I'll give way if the member is concerned about a voluntary approach can he confirm definitively then that the Labour Party now supports the evolution of employment law to this place and if that's the case why did they not support it at the time of the Smith commission? Mr Leonard our view is that we are interested in seeing what's going to happen to the rights that have been repatriated from Europe and where it's appropriate that they come here they should come here I understand that you want to see them all repatriated because that's been your stance as an SNP minister I completely understand that but ours is that we think that power should be taken to the level that's the most appropriate for them to be exercised at but let me return to the Tories because don't be deceived by the statements that you've heard this afternoon that they can be trusted with working people's rights when their amendment says that rights will be protected and I quote at the point at which the UK leaves the EU the game's given away because it fails once again to reveal precisely how long that protection would last for and it's the intention that the Tories have got today which they've always had people into allowing the rich to rule the roost and to continue to allow them to get richer at the expense of working people so what I want to conclude by saying is this I'm grateful for the Scottish Government for tabling this debate because over the next eight days we do need to consider the impact of Brexit and the future of workers' rights many working people do benefit from provisions rights and protections from the EU so the question for people to consider is this is the future of workers' rights safe in the hands of the party that introduced employment tribunal fees to deny access to justice are these rights safe in the hands of the party which is denying access to justice for working people injured at work because in the words of Lord Young of Grafham the aim is to free businesses from unnecessary bureaucratic burdens is the future of workers' rights safe in the hands of a party which already is set out in technicolour through the arty review for the DWP suggestions for streamlining occupational safety and health including proposal to repeal legislation on chemical agents, safety signs displaced screen equipment risk assessments and much more they are in favour of low taxes better regulation which we all know means lower regulation and deregulation so that the workers' rights in this country are safer in the hands of a party which puts jobs on the economy workers' rights, health and safety first which will repeal the trade union act abolish all employment tribunal fees introduce a £10 an hour real living wage for everyone who is 18 years and over ban zero hours contracts legislate for equal rights for all workers from day 1 and to Joan McAlpine introduce sexual level collective bargaining that's the question that we need to answer trade unions are a social and economic force at their best not just when negotiating the best deal for their members but looking to change the system in which their members work economic and social we need to see people considering over the next eight days whether they want to be part of a social doctrine that the poor can be left behind or whether they want to move to a society where the condition of each of us becomes the concern of all of us a society with a more equitable distribution not just of wealth but of power that's a future worth fighting for thank you Mr Leonard I'll call on Maurice Golden please or a conservatist to close seven minutes please thank you Presiding Officer the United Kingdom stands as a global leader on workers' rights which means that Scotland and the United Kingdom is also at the forefront today we have achieved consensus around support for workers' rights and respect for trade unions Jamie Hepburn spoke about inclusive economic growth something that we can also support in closing it would be helpful if the government would reflect on what more they could do to utilise public sector procurement and indeed taxpayer investment companies where potentially workers' rights are not protected in the manner in which this chamber would see fit a point made by Mike Rumbles and indeed also by Jackie Baillie who also highlighted that growing the economy shouldn't be at the expense of the workforce something which we on these benches also agree with Andy Wightman also highlighted issues around the gig economy and lack of workers' rights in that particular area Murdo Fraser gave a historical analysis showing how overpowered trade unions in the 1970s almost brought this nation to its knees and how now we have and enjoy a strong and stable industrial relations although Neil Findlay made clear he wants to take us back to the 1970s when the UK was the sick person of Europe I would also like to pay tribute at this point to a magnificent maiden speech from Michelle Ballantyne who will bring a wealth of experience from both the health sector and in business to this chamber and I look forward to hearing further contributions from Michelle in due course but as we leave the EU it is worth remembering that it has been because of successive British governments of all stripes that we have such strong employment rights our commitment to workers' rights traces its roots to before our membership of the European Union such as legislation on equal pay and banning race discrimination the fact is Britain regularly gives workers more than the European Union's minimum standards more statutory annual leave more paternity leave and more flexibility around sharing paternity leave Neil Findlay Every one of them that he has listed has been introduced by Labour governments and has been resisted by Tory politicians across the piece and if we had unfortunate situation where tedious threes that gets back into power we will see workers' rights roll back even further so isn't it the case that for working people the best thing for them to do is vote Labour next week I wonder if there is an election going on here Mr Golden Mr Findlay should have reflected on my earlier words where I said it was of all stripes but also let's make clear that the UK government are going to be extending workers' rights more than any before and to pick up Mr Findlay's earlier point where he mentioned Atley's commitment to building houses I wondered why he didn't reflect on the last Labour government's house building plan for council houses where in fact during the entire new Labour period in office they built less council houses than in one single year of Margaret Thatcher's Government there's Labour's record in office for all to see as we know the Prime Minister has made it clear that the rights we have built up over decades will be protected all existing EU law will be converted into UK law and all workers' rights will still be in force maintaining workers' rights is one thing but the Prime Minister has put herself on the side of the working people getting out how she will strengthen those rights these will include the right to bereavement leave the right to time off for training the right to representation on company boards and the right for every employee to receive information on key decisions these measures are important because we want to see better relations between employers and employees we recognise that trade unions play an important role I need to make some progress in the process and that trade unionists work hard for their members but we must ensure that the trade union bosses are also working in the best interests of workers and are not intertwined with one particular political party Previously, as a member of UNITE Neil Findlay and I may have been in the same trade union meeting at one point, I have received support and advice from trade union colleagues something which I value but trade unions are at their best when they are standing up for workers when they represent the many not the few unfortunately the trade union elite are determined to pursue a narrow political agenda which can at times be to the detriment of workers we need to move forward that's why we want to make sure hardworking people are protected from undemocratic strike action increased ballot thresholds a greater notice period and a sensible ballot mandate will all help to ensure strikes are legitimate and for the benefits of all workers underlying this commitment is to increase the national living wage in line with median earnings until the end of the next Parliament and ultimately the value that the UK Conservative Government will bring will mean more rights more protection more money and a plan that puts workers first that's what the Conservatives are delivering for hardworking families whilst other parties gripe and groan about leaving the European Union we see the opportunity to safeguard and strengthen workers' rights whilst they scheme and scare munger for political advantage we grow the economy that's what the UK Government has been delivering and that is what the SNP Government should be delivering I call Keith Brown to close with the Government Cabinet Secretary till 459 please First of all I thank all the members who have contributed to this important debate and to Michelle Ballantine who I thought gave a very interesting and articulate speech I particularly liked her quote about we will not agree on everything but we should respect each other and certainly agree with that and I can also congratulate her on her political legacy and she might be surprised for me saying that given that she just joined this Parliament but having stood 43 years ago for the litter picking party I think she called it so welcome to this Parliament this is a very important debate despite that basic questions arise for people such as will my job be safe will I be able to get a job are my rights protected and what avenues of recourse are available when things do go wrong that is why we brought this debate to the Parliament and we are passionately committed to protecting workers' rights we believe that every worker should be treated fairly and equally and deserves a right to safe secure well paid work with statutory benefits and protections research shows that not only can fair work reduce absenteeism improve staff morale and promote loyalty it can also have wider impact such as improving people's health and wellbeing for example family friendly working Scotland reports that 65% of employers indicate that flexible working has a positive effect on recruitment and retention just last month the poverty alliance issued the results of a living wage poll which showed that 8 out of 10 respondents said that being paid a real but a real living wage would make them feel more valued at work 74% said they would be more committed to a job and 66% said they would be more productive at work and this is a message that I and my colleagues have taken to businesses that paying the living wage is as much in their interest as it is in the interests of their employees there are many examples where Scottish based companies are seeing these approaches deliver real benefits and this month I visited the 800th scots based living wage accredited employer that was Gorgie City Farm in Edinburgh a real milestone for fair pay in Scotland and of course Scotland has the highest proportion of people who paid the living wage of any of the countries in the UK a point not made so far but I think a very important point but the Scottish government believes that every work is entitled to a wage that at least covers the cost of living and does not stagnate it's only the only way that we can secure fair work and fair pay for all of course and we can only do that to the greatest extent possible that the employment law is devolved to Scotland I'd also like to consider what happens when workers are subjected to treatment that is both not in keeping with our fair work ideals but also breaches their basic employment rights we vehemently objected to the UK Government's introduction of fees for employment tribunals we recognise that the fees could be a very real and in some cases insurmountable financial barrier to legitimate claims and that's why we've opted to abolish fees for employment tribunals once we are clear how the transfer and responsibilities were work a great deal as we mentioned about trade unions we believe strong trade unions play a hugely important role in securing and delivering protections on workers like many other members I'm both a former trade union member and shop steward research shows that lower levels of union membership reduce pay not just for union members but across society to come back to some of the other comments which have been made in particular on trade unions we oppose the UK trade union act the legislation represents in our view a direct threat to unions to the fundamental rights of workers and to the collaborative approach that we take here in Scotland so just to reiterate we support its immediate repeal and it was mentioned I think by Graham Simpson in relation to the trade union act he said if you abolish this be careful what you wish for we're going to be blighted by huge amounts of industrial unrest well he should do a bit of research before making those kind of statements if he had done so he would have found out that ONS statutory levels of industrial dispute in Scotland significantly decreased 77% in the period 2007 to 2015 so from that it's clear to me that working with trade unions treating them with respect is the way to reduce industrial tensions not by the introduction of negative instruments like the trade union act in relation to other aspects in particular made by the conservatives there was no answer to two conservative spokespeople I'm happy to take one now if they want to intervene on whether they thought it was right to charge between £1,000 and £2,000 for a skills charge attacks on employers for employing somebody from a particular background whether that's fair work whether that's equal or whether it's good for businesses no answer so we have to assume they do support that measure which the UK Government has brought in they've also of course remained silent on their abortive attempt to try and introduce increases for contributions for the self-employed are also whether it's the intention of the Government that they support to bring that in after the election they've also not said enough about the employment tribunals charges which are mentioned they did mention of course the importance of a good economy but a very one-sided and very partial account there was no mention, there was a very absurd mention from Dean Lockhart about a deficit of £15 billion in Scotland we have no deficit we balance our budget every year the UK Government has got a deficit it's got a national debt £1.8 trillion it's gone up £100 billion every year since the Tories got into power are you going to apologise for that Dean Lockhart Dean Lockhart I'm going to ask the cabinet secretary what the GERS numbers indicate because the First Minister herself a few weeks ago in this chamber stood by the GERS numbers as showing what the notional budget deficit looks like in Scottish finances so what I would say to the cabinet secretary is we do need a strong economy to support and protect workers' rights and is he concerned that the economy in Scotland is halfway to recession cabinet secretary we've moved in the space of one speech to another from a budget deficit to a notional budget deficit this is how the Conservatives play the game they changed the terms of it the whole time no mention of course of the fact that the UK Government has overseen a massive balance of trade deficit that they've overseen nearly 3 per cent to inflation on the higher unemployment in the rest of the UK than we have here in Scotland no mention of that by the Conservatives so I agree that we need to have a strong economy but that's not what we've seen we saw very interesting, I'm sorry I don't have much time left I was going to just mention the Greens in particular Andy Wightman who talked about wannabe hipsters and I must admit between green wannabe hipsters and blue wannabe UKIPers it was hard to keep up to speed with what was going on we've heard from Neil Findlay about the minimum wage which was very important and mentioned the SNP support for it it's also important to mention of course that the SNP that have achieved this 80 per cent level of payment of the living wage here in Scotland and whilst we're trying to make party political points where were the MPs from the Labour Party when the Smith commission when they were asked to support the involvement of employment law to Scotland they stood with the Tories just in fact Neil Findlay will know as Labour stands with the Tories in West Lothian just as they'll know that the Labour Party Glasgow City Council, South Lanarkshire Council have failed to pay equal pay to many of their female employees so we'll take no lessons from Neil Findlay the Conservative manifesto states they would double as I mentioned immigration skills charts that's a levy on employers and that will help to destroy the economy and take away the growth that we want to see members will share my concern that we make it more difficult as well and expensive for employers in Scotland to recruit the individuals that they require the best individuals that they require and going forward it's my belief that the only way we can guarantee the employment right of migrant workers in Scotland and how international is it Richard Leonard if you want to penalise people from other countries by saying you're going to prevent them from having freedom of movement that's not an internationalist perspective it doesn't bolster the arguments that you made in favour of the Labour Party the point that you're trying to make between Scotland and England your party supports an end to freedom of movement that impacts workers rights across the whole of the UK and the rest of Europe to conclude the Prime Minister called a general election to strengthen the grip of the Tory party but their campaign has highlighted fundamental flaws and policies that really matter to workers such as the minimum wage we believe that having the full range of employment powers and the support of the majority of this chamber would lead us to take a different and distinctly Scottish approach to protecting workers rights we will support the Labour Party's amendment we'll support the Green Party's amendment we'll support those amendments, the Government's motion and to support the transfer of powers on employment to Scotland that concludes our debate on protecting workers rights the next item of business is consideration of a business programme I would ask any member who wishes to speak against the motion to press a request to speak button now I would call on Joe Fitzpatrick to move motion number 5881 moved thank you the question therefore is that the Parliament agree on motion 5881 are we all agreed? we are agreed the next item of business is consideration of motion 58882 sitting on a timetable on stage one of the world animals and travelling circuses bill if anyone wishes to speak against the motion in that case can I call on Joe Fitzpatrick to move motion 5882 the question is that we app