7. To ask the Scottish Government, in light of its fair work first policy, what its response is to reports that workers in Scotland lost nearly £1.9 million in wages in a year due to working unpaid overtime. (S6O-02755)

Far be it from me to correct Mr Whitfield, but I think that he meant “billion” as opposed to “million”.

We believe that workers should have good work and secure conditions, with a fair wage for a fair day’s work. We have called on the United Kingdom Government to devolve employment powers to the Scottish Parliament. However, while employment law remains a reserved matter, we will continue to use our fair work policy to promote fairer work practices across the labour market in Scotland.

Through our fair work policy, we ask employers to pay at least the real living wage and to consider the number and frequency of work hours, which are critical in tackling in-work poverty.

I am grateful for that response—and that assistance.

Through its emanations, the Scottish Government is responsible for the public sector workforce. What does the Government have to say about the estimated £15 million of unpaid overtime hours in that sector, including in relation to teachers, who work well above their 35-hour week? What is the Scottish Government doing to ensure that those workers are paid for their work during the cost of living crisis?

I feel that I must declare an interest as the husband of a hard-working teacher and the son of a recently retired hard-working teacher.

We look to ensure that, in our public sector pay settlements, we do everything that we can to ensure that our hard-working public service workers earn a fair pay and that their contracts include an assurance that they work the hours that are ascribed to them. There are always challenges to that, and we all look to do what we can to ensure that we contribute in our workplace, but that should be recognised in the fair work policies that we bring forward and the contracts and payments that people receive.

Does the Cabinet secretary agree that, if Scottish Labour members are serious about protecting the rights of workers and going further to deliver fair work conditions in Scotland, they need to take proper action to press their London bosses to commit to devolving employment law to Holyrood as a priority?

The Deputy Presiding Officer:

Perhaps the Cabinet secretary could focus on those matters that are within his purview.

With regard to my ability, as the Cabinet secretary with responsibility for the wellbeing economy and fair work, to ensure that our commitments are being worked through in policy terms, it would be most helpful if Labour were able to give such a commitment and stand shoulder to shoulder with its Scottish colleagues, because we are in a very similar place; it is the divergence between here and London that is the challenge. Perhaps further conversations can be had around whether, if there is to be a future Labour Government, it would allow us the devolution of employment law in order to deliver on our commitments.