[Falkirk, 12.03.2025] My constituents correctly demand that Westminster delivers positive changes they can see and feel. They want to know that their bairns will have a better shot at life than they did, and they deserve enough money in their pockets to afford the things that bring them joy.
Poverty denies far too many people this hope. In Falkirk, more people are living in poverty today than 10 years ago. More children are growing up without the security they need than 10 years ago. More individuals with disabilities and chronic illnesses are struggling to make ends meet than 10 years ago.
Yet during this period, unemployment rates have barely changed. What has increased is insecure work, leaving families unable to plan their lives. Low pay has scandalously forced people with a full-time job to be reliant on food banks, and an inadequate sick pay system has meant that too many people face an impossible choice between getting better and getting paid.
These realities have betrayed the fundamental principle that the state should support people from cradle to grave.
This week, the House of Commons passed the Employment Rights Bill, introducing a long-overdue New Deal for working people. This legislation upholds the principle that if you work hard and play by the rules, you should earn enough to live a good life.
This bill will guarantee a pay rise for 200,000 Scots, ensuring that wages keep pace with the cost-of-living crisis we are all still struggling with. It will grant workers day-one rights, preventing people being unfairly sacked simply due to length of service. It will also ban the exploitative fire-and-rehire practices that big businesses have used to make workers worse off.
I know that the sick pay system does not provide adequate support for those forced to stop working due to illness. The government’s changes will make a real difference.
Abolishing the Lower Earnings Limit means £1.3 million of the lowest-paid workers will now qualify for statutory sick pay. Workers will be entitled to sick pay from the first day of illness, rather than the fourth. No one should ever be told they are too poorly paid to be paid when they are poorly.
I supported an amendment to allow pro-rata sick pay for those returning to work on a phased basis. Sickness does not operate like an on-off switch, and I will continue pressing ministers to go further in improving this system.
This bill is in the interests of ordinary, hard-working people. It is a key part of what the people of Falkirk elected Labour to deliver, and it will make a real difference to those who contribute the most to society but too often receive the least in return. These changes will bring greater fairness and security to workers across the country—because those who work the hardest deserve the right to live well.
ENDS
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