SCOTTISH Labour will look to stop zero-hour contracts in the public sector under any circumstances, leader Anas Sarwar has said.
The latest election pledge, announced yesterday, would see companies awarded public contracts barred from signing staff up to such agreements.
Sarwar also announced a new certification scheme that would be awarded to businesses that do not use zero-hour contracts, pay the Scottish living wage and produce an emissions reduction plan or commit to net zero. He said Scotland’s recovery from Covid-19 should also make employment fairer.
“Alongside the tragic death toll that this pandemic has caused we have taken an economic hit harder and deeper than the banking crisis,” he said.
“We need to put a jobs recovery at the heart of our plan for a national recovery from the pandemic.
“But we need to make sure that our economic recovery is based on fairness and good work.”
He added: “We should bring an end to the use of zero-hours contracts by companies that benefit from public funds and establish a ‘Better Business Scotland’ certification scheme to promote good work principles.”
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