Kenneth Macintosh
Labour
I remind members that, if the Amendment in the name of Dean Lockhart is agreed to, the amendment in the name of Jackie Baillie will fall.
The first question is, that amendment S5M-05864.2, in the name of Dean Lockhart, which seeks to amend motion S5M-05864, in the name of Jamie Hepburn, on protecting workers’ rights, be agreed to. Are we agreed?
The Presiding Officer:
There will be a Division.
Division number 1
Decision Time
The Presiding Officer:
The result of the Division is: For 23, Against 68, Abstentions 0.
Amendment disagreed to.
The next question is, that amendment S5M-05864.1, in the name of Jackie Baillie, which seeks to amend motion S5M-05864, in the name of Jamie Hepburn, on protecting workers’ rights, be agreed to. Are we agreed?
The Presiding Officer:
There will be a Division.
Division number 2
Decision Time
The Presiding Officer:
The result of the Division is: For 64, Against 27, Abstentions 0.
Amendment agreed to.
The next question is, that amendment S5M-05864.3, in the name of Andy Wightman, which seeks to amend motion S5M-05864, in the name of Jamie Hepburn, on protecting workers’ rights, be agreed to. Are we agreed?
The Presiding Officer:
There will be a Division.
Division number 3
Decision Time
The Presiding Officer:
The result of the Division is: For 64, Against 27, Abstentions 0.
Amendment agreed to.
The next question is, that motion S5M-05864, in the name of Jamie Hepburn, on protecting workers’ rights, as amended, be agreed to. Are we agreed?
The Presiding Officer:
There will be a Division.
Division number 4
Decision Time
The Presiding Officer:
The result of the Division is: For 63, Against 23, Abstentions 4.
Motion, as amended, agreed to,
That the Parliament recognises the vital role of trade unions to Scotland’s economy, society and its workforce; supports the Fair Work agenda to protect the rights of all workers in Scotland regardless of sector, background or employment status; supports the Better than Zero campaign and its efforts to support workers in the so-called gig-economy; agrees to make access to government support and funding dependent on clear ethical and environmentally-responsible business practices; is concerned about the impact that leaving the EU will have on the workforce in Scotland; agrees with Scottish Government plans not to impose employment tribunal fees when powers over tribunals are devolved; recognises that, for too many people, work is insecure with real terms pay still lower than before the financial crisis and that a £10 real living wage is essential; believes that progress on flagship policies such as the Business Pledge has been poor with only 2% of jobs in Scotland covered by it; considers that all EU-derived workplace Laws must be fully protected post-Brexit and that existing rights for all EU nationals living in Britain are guaranteed; believes that zero-hour contracts should be banned and that all workers should have equal rights from day one, whether part-time or full-time, temporary or permanent, which would help transform the workplace, and calls on the UK Government to act now to protect workers across the UK by repealing the trade union Act 2016.
The next question is, that motion S5M-05883, in the name of Joe FitzPatrick, on approval of a Scottish statutory instrument, be agreed to.
Motion agreed to,
That the Parliament agrees that the Insolvency (Regulation (EU) 2015/848) (Miscellaneous Amendments) (Scotland) Regulations 2017 [draft] be approved.
The final question is, that motion S5M-05884, in the name of Joe FitzPatrick, on approval of an Scottish statutory instrument, be agreed to.
Motion agreed to,
That the Parliament agrees that the Public Services Reform (Corporate Insolvency and Bankruptcy) (Scotland) Order 2017 [draft] be approved.
As a bill passes through Parliament, MPs and peers may suggest amendments - or changes - which they believe will improve the quality of the legislation.
Many hundreds of amendments are proposed by members to major bills as they pass through committee stage, report stage and third reading in both Houses of Parliament.
In the end only a handful of amendments will be incorporated into any bill.
The Speaker - or the chairman in the case of standing committees - has the power to select which amendments should be debated.
The House of Commons votes by dividing. Those voting Aye (yes) to any proposition walk through the division lobby to the right of the Speaker and those voting no through the lobby to the left. In each of the lobbies there are desks occupied by Clerks who tick Members' names off division lists as they pass through. Then at the exit doors the Members are counted by two Members acting as tellers. The Speaker calls for a vote by announcing "Clear the Lobbies". In the House of Lords "Clear the Bar" is called. Division Bells ring throughout the building and the police direct all Strangers to leave the vicinity of the Members’ Lobby. They also walk through the public rooms of the House shouting "division". MPs have eight minutes to get to the Division Lobby before the doors are closed. Members make their way to the Chamber, where Whips are on hand to remind the uncertain which way, if any, their party is voting. Meanwhile the Clerks who will take the names of those voting have taken their place at the high tables with the alphabetical lists of MPs' names on which ticks are made to record the vote. When the tellers are ready the counting process begins - the recording of names by the Clerk and the counting of heads by the tellers. When both lobbies have been counted and the figures entered on a card this is given to the Speaker who reads the figures and announces "So the Ayes [or Noes] have it". In the House of Lords the process is the same except that the Lobbies are called the Contents Lobby and the Not Contents Lobby. Unlike many other legislatures, the House of Commons and the House of Lords have not adopted a mechanical or electronic means of voting. This was considered in 1998 but rejected. Divisions rarely take less than ten minutes and those where most Members are voting usually take about fifteen. Further information can be obtained from factsheet P9 at the UK Parliament site.
The House of Commons votes by dividing. Those voting Aye (yes) to any proposition walk through the division lobby to the right of the Speaker and those voting no through the lobby to the left. In each of the lobbies there are desks occupied by Clerks who tick Members' names off division lists as they pass through. Then at the exit doors the Members are counted by two Members acting as tellers. The Speaker calls for a vote by announcing "Clear the Lobbies". In the House of Lords "Clear the Bar" is called. Division Bells ring throughout the building and the police direct all Strangers to leave the vicinity of the Members’ Lobby. They also walk through the public rooms of the House shouting "division". MPs have eight minutes to get to the Division Lobby before the doors are closed. Members make their way to the Chamber, where Whips are on hand to remind the uncertain which way, if any, their party is voting. Meanwhile the Clerks who will take the names of those voting have taken their place at the high tables with the alphabetical lists of MPs' names on which ticks are made to record the vote. When the tellers are ready the counting process begins - the recording of names by the Clerk and the counting of heads by the tellers. When both lobbies have been counted and the figures entered on a card this is given to the Speaker who reads the figures and announces "So the Ayes [or Noes] have it". In the House of Lords the process is the same except that the Lobbies are called the Contents Lobby and the Not Contents Lobby. Unlike many other legislatures, the House of Commons and the House of Lords have not adopted a mechanical or electronic means of voting. This was considered in 1998 but rejected. Divisions rarely take less than ten minutes and those where most Members are voting usually take about fifteen. Further information can be obtained from factsheet P9 at the UK Parliament site.
As a bill passes through Parliament, MPs and peers may suggest amendments - or changes - which they believe will improve the quality of the legislation.
Many hundreds of amendments are proposed by members to major bills as they pass through committee stage, report stage and third reading in both Houses of Parliament.
In the end only a handful of amendments will be incorporated into any bill.
The Speaker - or the chairman in the case of standing committees - has the power to select which amendments should be debated.
A group of workers who have united to promote their common interests.
Laws are the rules by which a country is governed. Britain has a long history of law making and the laws of this country can be divided into three types:- 1) Statute Laws are the laws that have been made by Parliament. 2) Case Law is law that has been established from cases tried in the courts - the laws arise from test cases. The result of the test case creates a precedent on which future cases are judged. 3) Common Law is a part of English Law, which has not come from Parliament. It consists of rules of law which have developed from customs or judgements made in courts over hundreds of years. For example until 1861 Parliament had never passed a law saying that murder was an offence. From the earliest times courts had judged that murder was a crime so there was no need to make a law.
