- author, James Delaney
- role, BBC News
-
Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar acknowledged that not all workers in family-run wholesale businesses are currently paid the real living wage.
The party wants to introduce a new minimum wage linked to the cost of living as part of a “new deal for workers”.
Other parties have accused him of being “hypocritical” over the policy.
This is 56p higher than the current national minimum wage, which was introduced by Labour as part of its 1997 election manifesto.
Labour has not revealed the exact tax rate it would introduce, but does support a “cost of living minimum wage”.
After becoming an MSP in 2017, Sarwar gave up his right to profit from his family’s company.
The wholesaler was founded by his father and as of 2019 employs around 250 people across stores across the west of Scotland.
He acknowledged that not all his company’s staff were paid the Living Wage Foundation’s real living wage rate, but said they would receive a cost-of-living linked pay rate if Sir Keir Starmer became chancellor.
He told the BBC’s Sunday Show: “They’re going to have to do what everybody has to do, which is to abide by the new deals for workers.”
“I don’t believe all staff are earning the effective living wage, but I do know that there has been a significant increase in wages as a result of negotiations with the trade union, Usdaw.
“All businesses, including that one, will have to comply with new deals for workers that will deliver a true living wage across the country.”
Sarwar denied that the plan would result in job losses as businesses struggle to meet wage increases.
Labour’s New Deal for Workers will also ban zero-hours contracts.
Sarwar said the scheme would help workers earn more and increase employee spending, which would help businesses prosper.
He said: “We need to change the balance of workers’ rights.”
“It’s at no cost to taxpayers and if you talk to businesses across the country, they also see it as a pure positive in terms of increased productivity, increased economic activity and benefits to their own employees and those who are not struggling.”
“There will be no job losses. If you look back to the 1997 election, there were threats at the time that hundreds of thousands of jobs would be lost across the country.
“And we are hearing the same thing again from Stephen Flynn and the Conservative Party.”
‘Astonishing discovery’
Opponents condemned Sarwar’s admission as “hypocritical”.
Mr Flynn, the SNP’s Westminster leader, said Labour was “watering down” workers’ rights and described Mr Sarwar as someone who stood for “less change and more opportunity”.
“This Labour hypocrisy scandal shows why it is so important to vote SNP to protect workers’ rights and put Scotland first,” he said.
“Hardworking people across Scotland are struggling to make ends meet because of Westminster’s failures – and Anas Sarwar’s family business is making their hardship worse by refusing to pay them the real living wage.”
“Labour has repeatedly watered down its promises on workers’ rights and given this startling revelation from the party’s most senior leader in Scotland it is hardly surprising.”
Meanwhile, Scottish Conservative chairman Craig Hoy described the interview as a “car crash”.
“The Scottish Labour leader has found himself in the humiliating position that, if his party wins the election, he will be forced by law to pay the real living wage because family-run businesses are refusing to voluntarily pay it,” he said.
“Anas Sarwar will face accusations of hypocrisy, especially as the dispute over staff salaries surfaced more than six months ago and is yet to be resolved.”
