BBC NEWS | Scotland | Socialists urge minimum wage rise

The Scottish Socialists are calling for a higher minimum wage and a shorter working week.

Party leader Tommy Sheridan said public service workers should be paid at least £7.32 an hour andcalled for the introduction of a maximum 35-hour week.

Mr Sheridan said the changes would help eradicate low pay and create 24,000 jobs.

SCOTTISH SOCIALISTS CONDEMN NEW LABOUR FAILURE ON POVERTY

The Scottish Socialist Party today responded to a new report on poverty in Scotland which shows that after 5 ½ years of New Labour, poverty has risen from 21.5 % to 23.5 %.
The report by the New Initiatives Foundation funded by the Rowntree Foundation is a damning indictment of the first five years of New Labour.

Scottish Socialist Party Press Officer Hugh Kerr who spoke at the launch and is a former university lecturer in social policy, said,
“This report is devastating as it shows that New Labour has failed the poor in Scotland. All their anti-poverty measures of the last few years have failed to tackle the real causes of poverty, low wages, lousy social security benefits and poverty pensions. Only when we address those, will we eradicate poverty, but that requires a political will that New Labour lacks.”

Tommy Sheridan MSP said,

“Today we learn that Tony Blair has bought two flats in Bristol for £270,000 each as a speculative measure. This is the real face of New Labour greed and corruption and neglect of the poor.”
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For more information, contact Tommy Sheridan on 07887 795075 or Hugh Kerr on 0131 348 5631/07713 063647

SCRAP SCOTTISH ENTERPRISE AND INCREASE MINIMUM WAGE IN PUBLIC SECTOR

The Scottish Socialist Party today announced its intention to scrap Scottish Enterprise and use its annual budget to introduce a £7.32 per hour minimum wage and 35-hour maximum working week across the public sector to eradicate low pay and create 24,000 new jobs.

The Scottish Socialist Party believes low pay within Scotland’s public services is an unacceptable scandal. Research from the Parliament’s research centre reveals a £450 million annual investment, less than 3% of the Parliament’s annual budget, would allow a radical improvement in wages, a cut in working hours and create 24,000 new jobs.

Tommy Sheridan, Scottish Socialist Party MSP and National Convenor said at today’s launch,
“The time for talking is over. Radical action to end low pay and associated poverty is now required. By scrapping Scottish Enterprise we release the necessary funds to pay for a £7.32 hourly minimum wage, a 35-hour week and the creation of 24,000 new jobs. This is real action to tackle real poverty and ends the scandal of poverty pay across our hospitals and town halls. This is the type of action the Scottish Parliament should be taking.”

Further information attached:
MOTION: (laid before Parliament today) Scrap Scottish Enterprise & increase minimum wage in public sector
That the Parliament notes the research conducted by the Scottish Parliament Research Service revealing that the cost of imposing a £7.32 per hour minimum wage and 35-hour maximum working week across the public sector in Scotland would be £450 million per annum and would create an additional 24,000 public sector jobs; further notes that the Scottish Enterprise budget for 2003-04, 2004-05 and 2005-06 is £446 million, £453 million and £454 million respectively and believes this agency should be scrapped and its budget used instead to eradicate low pay in Scotland’s hospitals and town halls, modernise working conditions and create 24,000 new jobs on a minimum hourly rate of £7.32, as recommended by the Low Pay Unit; and Parliament believes such a public investment package would end low pay in the public sector, raise hundreds of thousands out of poverty and set good employment practices which the private sector would be compelled to match and that instead of talking about tackling poverty, the Executive should act.

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For more information, contact Tommy Sheridan on 07887 795075 or Hugh Kerr on 0131 348 5631/07713 063647

Edinburgh University SSP Society have a new website at
http://www.eusa.ed.ac.uk/societies/ssss/

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