Scots Labour leader Anas Sarwar has backed Holyrood having the power to increase the minimum wage.
But he said devolving control would be “phase two” of a Labour Government, sparking accusations of a delay.
SNP MSP Rona Mackay said: “Anas Sarwar should be embarrassed by his pathetic attempt to package his party’s ancient empty promises as anything other than cheap soundbites.
“Once again we see Labour kicking its pledges so far into the long grass.”
Labour is drawing up plans for extra powers for Holyrood, with Keir Starmer saying last year it would be an early priority for his Government.
Figures in the Scottish party are frustrated at what they see as a lack of concrete plans to put to voters.
In an interview with the Record ahead of his party’s conference in Edinburgh, Sarwar said he supports MSPs being able to raise the £9.50 an hour living wage.
He said: “I’ve always been in favour of us having, like they do in the US...a country-wide floor, and then you have other rates that can be set in the different states across the US.
“I think that’s a model that is worth consideration here in Scotland, something I’d be very supportive of.
“Therefore we have a race to the top on wage levels rather than a race to the bottom.”
He made a similar argument for devolving control over employment legislation more generally:
“We have set out in numerous manifestos that we believe that there should be a UK floor when it comes to employment law, and that we should have the ability to lift from that floor in different parts of the UK.”
Sarwar said the priority would be allowing UK-wide reforms on scrapping anti-trade union laws, axing fire and rehire, and ending the “scandal” of zero hour contracts, to bed in first.
“What we want to do when we get into government is deliver those reforms right across the UK, and through that UK-wide legislation that obviously benefits Scotland, but then what I’d be interested in is the phase 2 of that [which] is how we entrench those rights here in Scotland, and that can be done through devolution.”
He also said Labour is already committed to beefing up Holyrood’s powers in two key areas.
“One is around enhanced borrowing powers. I think it’s right in the middle of an economic crisis for us to say we want to enhance the borrowing powers of the Scottish Parliament, but they also have to be consistent with the economic framework and fiscal tests that we set ourselves if we have the honour of occupying the UK treasury.”
The second area is giving Holyrood extra responsibility over migration to design a system that attracts and retains more talent.
The Glasgow MSP also spoke about his relationship with Starmer: “We have robust conversations, but I think the frame for all of our conversations is always one of respect.
“We genuinely believe that both are trying to do the best, one for Scotland, the other for the whole of the UK. And that we both desperately want Labour to win again. We both desperately want to change our country.”
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