Scottish Labour has established a commission to report later this year on how the party's vision of eradicating low wages could be achieved. It will by led by MSPs Jackie Baillie and Neil Findlay and include representatives from business, unions and the voluntary sector.
At a launch event in Glasgow today, Scottish Labour Leader Jim Murphy said:
"I'm making it my mission to abolish low pay in Scotland. Too many Scots families are just a rainy day away from real financial trouble. More than one in four Scots get paid less than the living wage. This isn't right, and we need to fix it fast. Scotland can only succeed when working people succeed. We need to come together to make this happen. The days of people going out to work all the hours they can and still not being able to make ends meet must come to an end. So we will make sure that any firms getting public sector contracts are living wage employers."
The Leader of Labour led Renfrewshire Council, Councillor Mark McMillan, explained how his council promoted the living wage in procurement and adopted UNISON's Ethical Care Charter. Speakers from the Poverty Alliance and RBS set out the case for the Living Wage - good for workers, business and the economy.
Neil Findlay MSP summed up the round table discussions that covered the need to raise the National Minimum Wage and ensure it was properly enforced. Others referred to wider employment concerns including the shift from wages to profits and the damage low pay is doing to the faltering economic recovery. Rebuilding collective bargaining was an important part of the solution.
Ending low pay is just one element of raising employment standards. Labour's commitment to improve childcare and ending exploitative zero-hour contracts were also important in delivering an economy that works for everyone.
At a launch event in Glasgow today, Scottish Labour Leader Jim Murphy said:
"I'm making it my mission to abolish low pay in Scotland. Too many Scots families are just a rainy day away from real financial trouble. More than one in four Scots get paid less than the living wage. This isn't right, and we need to fix it fast. Scotland can only succeed when working people succeed. We need to come together to make this happen. The days of people going out to work all the hours they can and still not being able to make ends meet must come to an end. So we will make sure that any firms getting public sector contracts are living wage employers."
The Leader of Labour led Renfrewshire Council, Councillor Mark McMillan, explained how his council promoted the living wage in procurement and adopted UNISON's Ethical Care Charter. Speakers from the Poverty Alliance and RBS set out the case for the Living Wage - good for workers, business and the economy.
Neil Findlay MSP summed up the round table discussions that covered the need to raise the National Minimum Wage and ensure it was properly enforced. Others referred to wider employment concerns including the shift from wages to profits and the damage low pay is doing to the faltering economic recovery. Rebuilding collective bargaining was an important part of the solution.
Ending low pay is just one element of raising employment standards. Labour's commitment to improve childcare and ending exploitative zero-hour contracts were also important in delivering an economy that works for everyone.
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