Jim Murphy in zero hours contract pledge

SCOTTISH Labour leader Jim Murphy has said the party “will stand up for working people in Scotland, not bosses in boardrooms”, as he pledged that his party would ban the use of controversial zero hour contracts.

Scottish Labour leader Jim Murphy. Picture: John Devlin

Mr Murphy made the pledge as he campaigned against the use of the contracts that allow employers to hire staff with no guarantee of work, only paying them for the hours they work, in Glasgow today.

The number of zero-hours contracts in the UK has increased from 1.4 million to 1.8 million, recent figures on the controversial employment arrangements showed.

Trade unions have claimed that at least 10 per cent of those on the contracts are in Scotland.

Mr Murphy repeated a pledge made by UK Labour leader Ed Miliband to offer every worker guaranteed hours after 12 weeks of working regular hours for an employer.

He said: “Time is running out for bad bosses who rip off workers on zero hours contracts. Under a Labour Government working people will be guaranteed regular hours after 12 weeks of work.

“Families across Scotland are budgeting week to week without knowing how much money will be coming through the door; it’s nothing short of a scandal. That is why a Labour Government will ban exploitative zero hours contracts.

tell the Tories their time is up, but only a Labour Government is big enough and strong enough to kick them out. A vote for any party other than Labour simply gives David Cameron more time in Number 10.”