People in Motherwell, Wishaw and Carluke will benefit more from the Labour Government’s Employment Rights bill than the UK average, new analysis published today shows.
The Bill is expected to benefit people in some of the most deprived areas of the country by saving them up to £600 in lost income from the hidden costs of insecure work.
Around 2.4 million people in the UK work irregular patterns like zero or low hours contracts or agency jobs, where insecure hours can mean forking out on expensive childcare or transport to cover last-minute shifts – or losing out altogether if work is changed or cancelled at short notice.
New protections like guaranteed hours and giving reasonable notice or compensation for lost work will help shift workers to keep up to £600 a year of that lost income.
Across the constituency, the rate of employment in low paid sectors where workers will benefit from the Bill is 40.6 per cent – above the UK average of 38.4 per cent.
Recent figures published by ONS shows that Scotland is also the zero hours capital of the UK, with over 100,000 workers in Scotland on those contracts.
Motherwell, Wishaw and Carluke MP Pamela Nash said: “The Government’s plans to make work pay are pro-worker, pro-business, pro-growth and will benefit people in Motherwell more than the rest of the UK on average.
“It will mean the biggest upgrade to workers’ rights in a generation, meaning a better, fairer deal for people across Scotland.
“We’ll end exploitative zero-hour contracts, increase job security, and establish important ‘day one rights’ on paternity, parental and bereavement leave.
“Our plan to Make Work Pay will tackle the low pay, poor working conditions and poor job security that has been holding our economy back.
“Workers across Motherwell, Wishaw and Carluke are set for a better deal as under Labour’s new deal for working people delivers the biggest package of workers’ rights in a generation and makes work pay.”
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