Sir,
After reading David Stewart's response (13 Nov. 2014) to my letter, he clearly demonstrates a severe lack of understanding of the problems faced by people in the workplace. If he was heavily involved with the creation of the minimum wage as he states, he will know it is a reserved matter for Westminster in which Holyrood has no influence.
He will also know that this is the only statute wage that UK employers have to comply with. For Holyrood to demand that vendors and service providers to pay the living wage would be illegal. Why is he and his party pushing this ludicrous scheme when it is evidently illegal ? And why has the MSP not answered my question on why Labour created the National Minimum Wage and not the living wage when in power?
As for New Labour's commitment to social justice we all know that the only thing they have to offer is rhetoric and bluster. Unlike SNP led councils, who all pay the living wage, there are New Labour led councils across the UK who don't.
Letters should be sent within the body of an e-
Labour’s “rhetoric and bluster”
16 November 2014
It is not true that SNP MPs went home to bed during the passage of Minimum Wage legislation.
All 6 SNP MPs voted for the Bill on 16th December 1997 and, unlike David Stewart,
Alasdair Morgan (SNP Galloway) spoke in favour of the Bill:-
Mr Stewart raises the problems with zero hours contracts which have been extensively used by employers since the early 1980's. Why is it only now that Mr Stewart has woken up to this? During their 13 years in power, the Labour Party supported this practice by engaging companies who implemented it. Blair and Brown told us when concerns were raised that this was solely an industrial relations matter.
UK workers have the least legal protection than any of their Western European counterparts. Maybe he would like to tell us why UK workers work the longest hours for the least pay and why Labour refused to sign up to the EU Directive relating to working hours?
Our list MSP complains that he worked through the night in connection with introducing the minimum wage, this is trivial in comparison to what many workers have to endure on a regular basis.
Archie Harper
27 Shulishader
Point
Isle of Lewis