The announcement came during a debate initiated by Labour MSP James Kelly on the living wage and procurement. Ms Sturgeon stated that two amendments will be made to the Procurement Reform Bill at stage three. The first will “put an explicit reference to the living wage on the face of the Bill and make it clear that one of the factors that authorities will require to evaluate, where it is relevant to the performance of the contract, is a contractor’s approach to pay and the living wage.”
The second will “put an explicit reference to the living wage on the face of the Bill and make it clear that one of the factors that authorities will require to evaluate, where it is relevant to the performance of the contract, is a contractor’s approach to pay and the living wage.”
Taken together, these amendments should strengthen the Procurement Reform Bill, making it clearer for public authorities and companies on the expectation to pay the living wage.
Peter Kelly, Director of the Poverty Alliance and co-chair of the Scottish Living Wage Campaign, said:
“We have long argued that there is a need to produce clear guidance on how the living wage can be included in procurement processes. These amendments should provide much needed clarity. We hope that this move will ensure that many more workers in Scotland will receive the living wage, and that organisations benefiting from public money will need to do more to ensure they tackle low pay.”
- The Scottish Living Wage Campaign is a coalition of trade unions, voluntary organisations and faith groups working to end poverty pay. http://slw.povertyalliance.org/
