THE SNP Trade Union Group (TUG) – the party’s largest affiliate body – has welcomed the decision of the Trades Union Congress (TUC) to support the devolution of employment law to the Scottish Parliament.
The decision by the TUC on Monday – which represents some 5.5 million workers across the UK – comes after Angela Rayner (below) said Labour wouldn’t hand extra powers that would have given MSPs the chance to abolish ‘fire and rehire’ and set a higher minimum wage.
The deputy leader said on a visit to Glasgow: "They won’t need it because I want employment law across the whole of the United Kingdom to be uplifted and better. That’s why we’ve got a new deal for working people.”
TUG called the move by TUC to back the devolution of employment law to Holyrood as “historic”.
“The political implications of this [decision] cannot be overestimated, particularly in the run-up to the Rutherglen and Hamilton West by-election,” SNP TUG convener Bill Ramsay told The National.
He added: “By opposing this policy position, now adopted by the TUC alongside the STUC, UK Labour have not only humiliated their Scottish branch office, but have treated the settled will of the Scottish Parliament on this issue with contempt.
“There is not a trade union in Scotland that opposes the devolution of employment law to the Scottish Parliament, and it is an established STUC policy.
“Proper employment laws are a safeguard of the rights of all workers, whether in trade unions or not. They underpin the proper delivery of all sound public services.
“That UK Labour (and as accounts held by the Electoral Commission reveal, there is actually only one legal Labour entity) would be a de facto accessory in the dismantling of workers’ rights removes yet another connection that the party once had with working people in Scotland.”
