Labour will scrap zero-hour contracts if the party wins the next general election, its deputy leader has said. Angela Rayner made the pledge, saying it would form part of Labour's "new deal for working people" if Sir Keir Starmer enters Downing Street after the next general election.
Ahead of Ms Rayner addressing the STUC conference in Dundee, the party highlighted the situation in Scotland, pointing to an increase in the number of zero-hour contracts there in the past decade, rising from about 46,000 between October and December 2013 to about 94,000 during the same period last year. Ms Rayner criticised the UK and Scottish Governments over the figures, however employment law remains a reserved power that cannot be changed by Scottish ministers.
"Scotland has seen an explosion of zero-hours contracts, leaving working people with insecure hours and no guarantee when their next pay cheque will arrive," she said. "This disgraceful surge in insecure work risks a race to the bottom.
