More than 100,000 Scots still on zero hour contracts as SNP and Labour clash over 'scandal'
dailyrecord.co.ukThe SNP and Labour have clashed over the "scandal" of Scots workers stuck on zero hours contracts.Stephen Flynn, the Nationalist leader at Westminster, stepped up calls today for employment laws to be devolved to Holyrood to allow the Scottish Government to crack down on the use of "outdated" working practices.
It comes as figures show that 109,000 (4.1 per cent) of workers in Scotland are currently employed on zero hours contracts.Ian Murray, Labour's Shadow Scottish Secretary, insisted his party would ban the use of "exploitative" working conditions if it won the next general election.
Zero hours contracts, or casual contracts, allow employers to hire staff with no guarantee of work.Unions have repeatedly warned such terms do not offer enough financial stability and security.
But employers argue they offer staff flexibility - particularly younger people who may also be studying.Flynn said: "Keir Starmer’s refusal to devolve employment laws to Holyrood betrays the needs of Scotland’s workers. "Currently, over 100,000 workers’ in Scotland are at the mercy of exploitative and outdated zero-hour contracts."We know that the best way to protect those workers is to ensure employment protection rights apply equally to all - but we now know that Labour stand ready to abandon their pledge to introduce such protections. "Given they can’t be trusted to improve employment rights, Starmer must commit to transferring employment powers to Holyrood so that the SNP can offer real change to Scotland’s workers.“At the next election, a vote for the SNP is a vote to reject cruel Westminster policies like zero-hour contracts, tackle the cost of living crisis, and deliver a strong team of SNP MPs who only answer to their constituents and
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