Category Archives: Employment

Film and TV studio vital for Scottish film industry

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Today I have called for the Scottish Government to clarify what plans it has for a new film and TV studio to ensure that the Scottish film industry is not left behind its UK counterparts. I have made the calls following news that Screen Yorkshire has announced its new plans for film studio outside Leeds.

Scotland has the skills, talent and scenery to be at the forefront of the film industry, not just here in Britain but across Europe and the world. However without a dedicated national film and TV studio it faces being left behind.

Recently the Scottish Parliament’s Economy Energy and Tourism Committee published a report on the economic impact of Scotland’s creative industries (including the film and TV industry). Continue reading →

Fife needs a pay rise

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Last week was Living Wage week and Scottish Labour held a debate in Parliament calling for the wage to be the ‘expectation not the exception’. With over 400,000 workers across Scotland earning below the living wage, including 26,000 in Fife, during the debate calls were made for the Scottish Government to extend payment to all public sector contractors.

The minimum wage was introduced in 1999 but I believe that now is the time to go further. The figures mentioned above from accounting firm KPMG highlights the need for action. The fight for fair pay is sadly far from over.

Earlier this year I supported extending the living wage to staff on public contracts just as I supported colleagues during the debate on the 5th. Unfortunately the Scottish Government failed to support both calls.

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Action needed on zero hours contracts

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A new report from Citizens Advice Scotland has claimed that zero hour contracts are leaving thousands of working Scots on the brink of poverty. Citizens Advice Bureaux’s have reported concerns over the legal protection workers on these contracts have from poor employment practices. This includes workers finding their hours suddenly cut in an attempt to make them resign.

These contracts in a lot of cases aren’t being used to offer flexibility to the employer or the employee. Instead they are the only employment option available to those wanting to work.  If we are to fully tackle issues of poverty and exploitation in Fife and beyond then we must ensure that we don’t just condemn them but act on the misuse of zero hour contracts.

According to the Office of National Statistics there are around 1.4 million employees with zero hour contracts. Many of these workers are more likely to be female, either under 25 or over 65, and more likely to want to work more hours than they currently do.  Continue reading →

Claire calls for promotion of the living wage

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I have urged for active promotion of the living wage in Fife after a YouGov poll found that 90% of Scots believe companies should be paying the wage to their workers. Figures estimated that there are over 23,000 workers in Fife who are paid less than the living wage, the 3rd highest total across local authority areas in Scotland. The wage, currently set at £7.65 an hour, would see a rise of £2,600 per year for a full time worker currently earning the minimum wage.

I have called for the living wage to be actively promoted amongst the private sector and has urged the Scottish Government to back a tax rebate for firms who pay it, along with establishing a National Living Wage Strategy.

I met with workers outside the Parliament as the Procurement Reform Bill was passed by Parliament. During the passage of the bill proposals from Scottish Labour to deliver the living wage to workers on public contracts were defeated by the SNP and Conservatives. Continue reading →

Claire in Living Wage Call

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Recently I joined with party colleagues in calling for the Scottish Government to use their spending power to deliver the living wage for workers in Fife and across Scotland.

The call followed a debate in the Scottish Parliament which will change the way public contracts are handed out to private companies; covering goods and services from the provision of stationary to the delivery of major capital projects, such as the Queensferry Crossing.

Public sector procurement is worth at least £9 billion a year in Scotland and the Scottish Labour Party has called for those employed in these contracts to be paid the living wage, set at £7.45 an hour. Continue reading →

Totally Locally in Burntisland

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Last week I was delighted to be asked to launch Burntisland’s Totally Locally Campaign. The event which was launched with a dance mob and an unveiling of the map of the town aims to promote the high street in Burtnisland.

Totally Locally has been successful throughout the UK having being initially launched in West Yorkshire and will hopefully be a positive experience for the town.  It is a great opportunity to promote local businesses that have signed up and boost footfall in the high street.

Claire calls for action to tackle the need for food banks

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Yesterday in Parliament I raised the challenges facing food banks across the Kingdom during a Member’s debate. Having attended the launch of the food bank in Kirkcaldy I have seen first hand the demand for these services and the vital role they play in helping those that need it most. 

Recent reports that the food bank in Glenrothes is running low on food as it struggles to keep up with demand highlights how important these services are for the Kingdom. Those that have taken the time to help, from volunteering in the banks or donating food whilst they do their weekly shop, deserve our thanks. Without them the situation throughout Fife would be a lot worse.

My full speech can be found on the Scottish Government website.

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Claire shows support for Living Wage

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The other week I signed up to the Living Wage pledge at a lobby of Parliament organised by the Scottish Living Wage campaign, alongside the Scottish Trade Unions. The campaign was organised to push for a living wage to be implemented at the heart of procurement policy in Scotland. 

At a time where so many households across Fife are facing a cost of living crisis it is important that we take all opportunities to ensure that work pays by having employers adhere to the living wage.

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Fife in the red

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Yesterday in Parliament I met with StepChange Debt Charity as they launched their Scotland in the Red research report. The report found that Scotland has the highest volume of payday lending among Stepchange Debt Charity clients in the UK. It shows that over 10% of total client debt in Scotland was the result of payday loans, and almost 20% of clients had at least one payday loan.

In Fife, Cowdenbeath and Dunfermline’s average debt was much higher than the Scottish average by £6,778 and £1,700 respectively. Both areas also join with North East Fife in having an above average payday loan debt. Kirkcaldy is also a cause for concern with more people there taking out a pay day loan than average across Scotland.

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Claire backs Usdaw’s calls for shoppers to ‘keep your cool’

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Today in Parliament I joined with members of the retail union Usdaw to campaign for respect for shop workers as part of the Freedom From Fear Campaign, which seeks to prevent violence, threats and abuse directed at retail staff.

Too often retail employees are confronted with violence, threats and abuse and it is really important that the people of Fife stand together and ask people to ‘keep their cool and respect shopworkers’. That is why I support Usdaw’s call for a change in the law to provide stiffer sentences for those who assault workers across the Kingdom.