Programme for Government - Fair Work

 The Scottish Government has determined that Scotland will become a Fair Work Nation by 2025. Yesterday, the Scottish Government published its Programme for Government, so it's a good time to assess the likely progress in the coming year.

The Reid Foundation has published a report I drafted on Assessing Fair Work in Scotland. Trade unions in Scotland called for the creation of Fair Work, welcomed its aspirations and now serve on the Fair Work Convention. However, they also recognise the limitations of Fair Work and have been critical of its implementation.

In the report, I conclude, ‘The largely voluntary approach taken to Scotland’s Fair Work initiative has made a limited but positive contribution to improving working lives, particularly in the broader public services. However, it has not yet delivered major results, as evidenced by the continued prevalence of poor-quality work across Scotland’s labour market. If Scotland is to claim to be a Fair Work Nation in 2025, much more needs to be done to turn the worthy ambition into reality.’

The report makes 19 recommendations to improve Fair Work. The key points are summarised in this graphic, which focuses on using all the levers of government to deliver all aspects of Fair Work.

In the Programme for Government, it is welcome to see such a clear statement that Fair Work is crucial to achieving social justice, ‘Creating good jobs and increasing wages is one of the best ways to support our anti-poverty agenda.' It is disappointing that in 'business reset' mode, the introduction did not repeat its importance to the broader economy. On the substance of Fair Work, there was nothing new. 

Delivering Fair Work for all

■ Boost wages by increasing the number of employers who pay at least the Real Living Wage including through Fair Work conditionality for grants, introducing sectoral Fair Work agreements, and improving outcomes by delivering the Fair Work Action Plan.

This is all fine, but extending Fair Work conditionality to grants took many years. We are still waiting for the critical policy of sectoral Fair Work agreements, which is also not necessarily the same as sectoral collective bargaining. Delivering the previously announced Fair Work Action Plan ought to be a given, but maybe not! Increasing the minimum pay of social care and childcare workers to £12 per hour is a welcome step in the right direction, even if better employers are already there and beyond. However, it is another sticking plaster which needs sectoral collective bargaining to address the wide range of employment issues that underpin recruitment and retention in these sectors.

There is no mention of the aim for Scotland to be a Fair Work Nation by 2025. Another task group has been established for this, which will need to focus less on ambition and more on delivery. If, as the Programme for Government claims, ‘Delivering Fair Work for all is critical to our missions and a top priority for the Scottish Government,’ and to ‘Embed fairness in how workplaces are managed’ is to become a reality, more needs to be done as set out in the Reid Foundation report.

P.S. My thanks to the union representatives and others who gave their time to be interviewed by me. And to the Alex Ferry Foundation, which funded the project.