The trade union movement has “never been so important”, the general secretary of the Scottish Trades Union Congress (STUC) has said, as she claimed workers are £4.4bn better off as a result of union-backed strikes.
The annual STUC conference is due to kick off on Monday and will be addressed by Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar and First Minister Humza Yousaf.
Ahead of the Dundee event, Roz Foyer hailed the “staggering amount” strikes in the past two years had secured for workers in pay and pension contributions.
“Over £4.4bn was won by our movement, which is £3bn more than if workers hadn’t collectivised together in their unions and fought for better deals,” she said.
“It’s abundantly clear that, as we hurtle towards a general election and, hopefully, a change of UK Government, the voices of our movement have never been so important.
“It has been those at the front line of our public services that have led the charge, with workers leading when their politicians failed them.
“It’s not just about pay, it’s about those who use the services we deliver,“ Foyer continued. “As our core public services come under increasing threat from austerity and government inaction, we will see workers coming together to campaign and take action for better funding and support for their vital public services.
“The Scottish Government, or any potential incoming UK Labour government, must heed the call from our movement and follow where we lead as we campaign for greater workplace rights, protections and funding for our vital public services.”
Sarwar is set stress his party’s plans to strengthen workers’ rights after the next election in a speech at the conference today.
Labour has touted its new deal for working people - which would scrap zero hour contracts, increase the living wage and end fire and rehire practices - if the party wins the next election.
“Labour’s New Deal for Working People is opposed by the Tories at Westminster and by the SNP at Holyrood – but it will be supported and implemented by the people of the UK,” Sarwar said.
“The need for a government on the side of working people could not be clearer and that is what is on offer at this election whenever the Tories pluck up the nerve to call it.
“A Labour government with Scottish Labour trade unionist MPs at its core, fighting for their country, community and class at the heart of government.”
Foyer welcomed Sarwar’s “recommitment” to the policy, but pushed the party to implement it within the first 100 days of a Labour government.
“The STUC and trade unions across the country have been clear that this pledge is our number one priority and non-negotiable,” she added.
“The new deal has the potential to be completely transformational for working people across these isles, tipping the balance of power into the hands of workers, not the employers.
“We look forward to and indeed expect any incoming UK Labour government to deliver their pledge within the first 100 days of government.
“After almost 15 years of excruciating Tory Government, working people can ill afford any further delay.”
Sarwar’s speech comes before Yousaf is due to address the congress on Tuesday.
The SNP leader is also expected to make an election pitch at the event, pitting his party against Labour and stressing the election will be a “choice of values”.
SNP MP David Linden - the party’s social justice spokesman - said the Scottish Government could have taken action on workers’ rights if employment law was devolved to Holyrood.
“We could rewrite the rules of work and reverse punitive anti-trade union laws in Scotland now if the Labour party hadn’t, time and time again, sided with the Tories to block the devolution of employment law to Scotland,” he said.
“Labour could help us secure results for workers if they really wanted to, but they’ve proved they’re more interested in propping up the Westminster status quo than they are in affecting the real change people desperately need.
“Only a vote for the SNP can secure results for workers who’ve been subjected to the cruel policies of the Tories who’ve sought to make life a misery for people fighting for basic improvements to their working conditions.”
Meanwhile, a Bill which would create an advisory council on workplace injuries will be debated in Holyrood next week, as the STUC pushes for government backing.
The Scottish Employment Injuries Advisory Council Bill was proposed by Labour MSP Mark Griffin.
The legislation would create an independent body tasked with commissioning research and to make recommendations to government on support available for those who can no longer work due to a workplace injury.
According to the Labour MSP, ex-football players with dementia, care workers with long Covid and firefighters who have cancer will benefit.
The advisory council, if the legislation is passed, will also feature employee and employer representatives.
The Scottish Government and the Social Justice and Social Security Committee at Holyrood have opposed the general principles of the Bill.
Social Justice Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville, appearing before the committee in November, said the government planned to hold a “wide-ranging” consultation on how workplace injury support should look after it is devolved from the UK Government.
Ahead of the debate, a motion has been tabled before the STUC conference in support of the Bill.
Foyer said: “The Scottish Government has a unique opportunity to build a welfare system fit for the 21st century with the voices of workers at its heart.
“They must not let them down - by rejecting Mark Griffin’s Bill, they would be sending out the message that workers injured at their work and now in need of assistance from the state can be discarded or ignored.”
Griffin said: “The Scottish Government must listen to the calls of the STUC, ensuring a revamped injury benefit meets the needs of 21st century workers.
“The clock is ticking, and the voices of workers must be heard.”
Somerville said: “I share the ambition to modernise the industrial injuries scheme and ensure it meets the needs of the people of Scotland, this Bill would not improve outcomes for people who rely on this scheme or address concerns raised.
“The industrial injuries scheme was introduced in 1948 and is almost entirely paper-based, due to this complexity and the range of views on the scheme, it would be more appropriate to consider the establishment of a statutory advisory body alongside other fundamental questions about the future of the scheme.
“We will shortly launch a consultation on employment injury assistance, our proposed replacement for the UK industrial injuries scheme. I am committed to acting on the outcome of the consultation.”
According to the Department for Work and Pensions, the UK industrial injuries scheme provides no-fault benefits for disablement because of an accident at work, or because of one of over 70 prescribed diseases known to be a risk from certain jobs.
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