Bare-Faced Cheek

I had a good laugh at this article from The Scotsman in which Jim Murphy insists that Labour will stand up for working people in Scotland.

Now I've been in touch with Jim's two immediate predecessors (Johann Lamont and Iain Gray) about the fight for equal pay in Scotland and I can safely say that the Labour Party was not remotely interested in the widespread pay discrimination that was taking place in Scottish councils - even though many of the worst offenders were large Labour-run councils.

For example Glasgow City Council, South Lanarkshire Council and North Lanarkshire Council.

So if you ask me there will be tens of thousands of low paid women council workers across Scotland who will be asking themselves in the run up to polling day on May 7th:

"Where was the Labour Party when we needed them?"     

Jim Murphy in zero hours contract pledge

Scottish Labour leader Jim Murphy. Picture: John Devlin

By Andrew Whitaker - The Scotsman

SCOTTISH Labour leader Jim Murphy has said the party “will stand up for working people in Scotland, not bosses in boardrooms”, as he pledged that his party would ban the use of controversial zero hour contracts.

Mr Murphy made the pledge as he campaigned against the use of the contracts that allow employers to hire staff with no guarantee of work, only paying them for the hours they work, in Glasgow today.

The number of zero-hours contracts in the UK has increased from 1.4 million to 1.8 million, recent figures on the controversial employment arrangements showed.

Trade unions have claimed that at least 10 per cent of those on the contracts are in Scotland.

Mr Murphy repeated a pledge made by UK Labour leader Ed Miliband to offer every worker guaranteed hours after 12 weeks of working regular hours for an employer.

He said: “Time is running out for bad bosses who rip off workers on zero hours contracts. Under a Labour Government working people will be guaranteed regular hours after 12 weeks of work.

“Families across Scotland are budgeting week to week without knowing how much money will be coming through the door; it’s nothing short of a scandal. That is why a Labour Government will ban exploitative zero hours contracts.

"Tell the Tories their time is up, but only a Labour Government is big enough and strong enough to kick them out. A vote for any party other than Labour simply gives David Cameron more time in Number 10.”