Keith Brown: ...Party was reportedly using fire-and-rehire practices two years ago for its own staff and why North Lanarkshire Council proposed such changes, which affected many women? Unison had to threaten strike action in that case to ensure that the council avoided those fire-and-rehire tactics for which the member condemns the Conservatives.
Keith Brown: I imagine that Brian Whittle must be the only person in the chamber who cannot see the link between restricting trade unions’ ability to strike and the suppression of wages. However, perhaps if he goes away and researches a bit, he will work it out. There has been a great deal of talk over many years about legislation on trade unions in the UK, which has, more often than not, been caused by...
Keith Brown: ...case, trade union workers? Why is it always pandering to its base—I mean base in both senses of the word—by trying to attack people and by indulging in culture wars? The latest proposal, the Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Act 2023, is just the latest in a line of anti-trade union legislation, introduced because the UK Government thinks that it appeals to its base supporters. I remind...
Keith Brown: ...amendment that Pam Duncan-Glancy lodged at stage 2 that sought to replace the reference to “supporting or opposing”, which was proposed by me, with a broader reference to “relating to” the strike. The matter was debated in committee, with the outcome that the reference to “supporting or opposing” was added to the bill at stage 2. Her amendment 3 brings the matter to the chamber...
Keith Brown: ...should be allowed, encouraged and supported to express solidarity with others who are in difficult circumstances. I would not quibble with that. I, too, was young—or younger—during the miners strike. As a student, I supported some of the activities that Richard Leonard talked about in relation to support funds for miners and so on. At stage 2, amendments were agreed to that extended...
Keith Brown: ...did not recommend a compensation scheme as part of the bill. That was partly because the inquiry team wanted this to be an act of reconciliation in communities which were riven apart by the miners strike. I heard mention of the Scottish procurators fiscal and the Scottish police. It was the National Coal Board. It was industrial relations and employment law, which are reserved to...
Keith Brown: ...The qualifying criteria are straightforward. If the conviction was for an offence of breach of the peace, breach of bail conditions, police obstruction et cetera, or theft that was connected to the strike, the pardon will apply automatically to miners and to those who lived in a miner’s household. We have added to those categories of people the categories that were included in Fulton...
Keith Brown: ...; what can be done now to support former mining communities; and what can be done collectively to press the UK Government to consider undertaking a full, UK-wide inquiry into the events of the strike. I should explain that I never asked for or demanded consensus, although I certainly hoped for it. My point was simply that it is not possible to mock a set of people because they want to make...
Keith Brown: I am delighted to open the stage 1 debate on the general principles of the Miners’ Strike (Pardons) (Scotland) Bill. I thank the convener and members of the Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee for their scrutiny of the bill and their stage 1 report. I am grateful to those who provided views to the committee as part of that process, many of whom experienced the strike at...
Keith Brown: ...who are most likely to benefit are aware of the pardon? Does the bill deliver the objectives that the Parliament seeks? What can be done to support former mining communities, as a legacy of the strike and the demise of the coal mining industry? What can be done collectively to press the UK Government to consider undertaking a full UK-wide inquiry into the events of the strike? It would be...
Keith Brown: ...will be the first two-city deal in Scotland. In addition, I want to seek clarity and achieve consensus where possible with other partners on how all Scotland can benefit from the deals that we strike. The first deal was, of course, Glasgow. That deal is in its delivery stage. Along with the UK Government, we are supporting £1.13 billion of investment in Scotland’s largest city and...
Keith Brown: ...said, the main opposing argument is that nuclear weapons are morally wrong. They are morally wrong for a number of reasons, in particular their indiscriminate nature. It is not possible to launch a strike with nuclear weapons and restrict it to those we would see as being our enemy without taking in huge numbers of civilian and, often, innocent populations. They are indiscriminate, and...
Keith Brown: ...kill and destroy everything in their path, and their use would bring untold humanitarian suffering and environmental damage, with the effects being felt across the world. There can be no surgical strike with a nuclear weapon; we would take out entire civilisations if we were to use some of the weapons that are currently available. In a previous debate, I noted the comments of the former...
Keith Brown: ...was completed and it could be done two years early, that would be fantastic, but we have to take the advice of experts on the project. The speech by Christian Allard was excellent—he managed to strike a much better tone than most of the rest of us have done during the debate. It was an excellent maiden speech and he is very welcome to the Parliament. It is worth saying a few words about...
Keith Brown: ...that weapons of mass destruction were not there—that was a false prospectus—and that the 45-minute threat was absurd. If that applied to anything, it applied to Saddam’s plans to launch a strike on his own troops if they chose to desert; it did not apply to a threat to the national interests of this country. We also know that the al-Qa’ida threat that was raised was false....
Keith Brown: ...travelling on the overnight route. Members will be aware, however, that in October the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers balloted its members among the northern isles crew on strike action over Serco’s planned revision of staffing arrangements. Following a ballot on 7 December, the RMT announced dates for a series of 24-hour strikes. The first day of strike action is...
Keith Brown: ...parties not to do this. I very much regret the loss that Tavish Scott’s constituents might incur and, again, my response is that we continue to encourage both parties to take action to avoid the strike action, even though it might not now avoid the expense that has been incurred by the family the member has mentioned.
Keith Brown: The member makes a fair point that I think underlines Tavish Scott’s comments. The timing of the proposed strike action is extremely unfortunate and is another reason why I have urged both parties to continue the constructive dialogue that I understand is now taking place and to resolve their dispute. If we can achieve that—and I still hope that it can be achieved—others will be...
Keith Brown: As I have said, I am disappointed rather than surprised in the decision to continue with the strike action, not least given the movement that I understand the employer has made to meet certain continuing concerns. For example, I understand that Serco has made a commitment that staff’s terms and conditions will not be revisited in the forthcoming period. I hope that the RMT will take on...
Keith Brown: .... ?Accordingly, I have been considering what the best contract end date would be for Scotland’s rail passengers and for the rail staff affected by the change. ?I have looked for a date that will strike a sensible balance; that allows us to maintain our prudent procurement programme while providing a suitable period to take full account of emerging views from the Brown review; and that...