Economic ‘mountain to climb’ to be Fair Work Nation says STUC
The latest labour market figures for Scotland show the Scottish Government have a ‘mountain to climb’ if they are to be a Fair Work Nation by 2025 according to Scotland’s leading trade union body.
The STUC has highlighted the “serious challenges” ahead for the new First Minister as the Office for National Statistics revealed that between December-February 2024 and January-March 2024, employment fell by 1.1%, unemployment increased by 0.4% and economic activity increased by 0.8%.
The trade union body did welcome a significant fall in zero-hour contracts over that period but warned more than 70,000 workers in Scotland remain on them. There was also a fall in full-time workers, a rise in part-time workers and a rise in temporary workers with figures showing 136,000 temporary workers in Scotland in the last quarter of 2023. Meanwhile, PAYE data also shows that earnings in Scotland fell in April 2024.
Commenting, STUC General Secretary Roz Foyer said:
“These figures show that the Scottish labour market still faces serious challenges which must be a priority for the new Scottish Government.
“While Fair Work may have disappeared from Ministerial job titles, the Scottish Government says it still aims to be a world-leading Fair Work nation by 2025. They will have a serious mountain to climb if they don’t knuckle down and dedicate the proper funding or governmental focus to help us reach our Fair Work goals.
“Rather than talk about cutting red tape, the Scottish Government must now use all the levers at its disposal, including public sector pay policy, procurement, and regulation to advance Fair Work in Scotland. This needn’t be just another government policy buzzword that fails to deliver. We can make Scotland a leading nation in decent employment practices with fair terms, pay and conditions at its core. We invite the Scottish Government to redouble its efforts and use today’s labour market data as a clear warning of the work still to be done.
“We remain committed to working closely with the First Minister to deliver on our shared objectives and look forward to discussing in detail how we drive this work forward.”
END
Notes to editors:
Headline labour market indicators for Scotland:
Zero-hour contracts data:
Earnings and employment from Pay As You Earn Real Time Information, seasonally adjusted:
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