Scottish Secretary Douglas Alexander has said the SNP should “hang their heads in shame” over an aborted plan to fire and rehire Glasgow City Council staff.
The SNP-led authority announced on Thursday plans to sack 23,000 non-teaching staff, hiring them back on new contracts following a breakdown in talks with unions over a long-running equal pay dispute. But it took less than 24 hours for the plan to be paused, after an intervention from Deputy First Minister Jenny Gilruth.
Alexander's attack at Labour conference
Speaking at the Labour conference in Liverpool, Mr Alexander took aim at the SNP. “Just last Thursday, the SNP-led Glasgow City Council attempted to fire and rehire more than 20,000 of their employees,” he said.
“This is happening not in 1926, conference, but 2026. The SNP should hang their heads in shame. Let us be very clear from Liverpool – fire and rehire is a pernicious policy that is a scandalous way to treat any worker. So I give you this pledge today: In just a matter of months, it will have been outlawed by this Labour Government.”
Labour leader's response
New Scottish Labour leader Michael Marra urged delegates in Liverpool to back an emergency motion condemning the decision in Glasgow to “send the clearest possible message that the labour movement will never accept threats to working people”.
Speaking on BBC Scotland’s Sunday Show, Ms Gilruth said the position from the council was “quite challenging”. “None of us wanted to arrive at the position that we were in on Friday,” she said.
“I’m very pleased that we were able to secure a pause in the process, that was my ask as Deputy First Minister that we pause the process to allow that intensive engagement to continue. So that’s exactly what we’ll be restarting from the beginning of next week to ensure we can get an outcome that will improve the pay of workers across Glasgow.
“This relates to historic challenges that Glasgow City Council inherited in terms of equal pay, so they’re moving forward on those measures and we’ll work with the trade union partners to help support a resolution for the workforce.” Glasgow City Council has been contacted for comment.
Defence colleges and election reflection
Mr Alexander also used his speech to call again for the Scottish Government to back two new technical defence colleges. “My challenge from this stage to our First Minister John Swinney is to work with us, because it’s not John Swinney’s Scotland, it’s not my Scotland, it’s our Scotland, and we must work together for our nation to fulfil its true potential,” he said.
“John Swinney can choose to stand up for Scottish shipbuilding, or he can simply once again sit this one out. For goodness’ sake, man, for the sake of Scotland, get to your feet.”
Mr Marra, meanwhile, addressed Labour’s disastrous Holyrood election result in May, which saw just 17 MSPs elected. “The joy of July 2024 gave way to the pain of May 2026 – and the results in May hurt,” he said in his first conference speech since taking over in the job earlier this month.
“They hurt because we know Labour in power changes lives for the better. Labour in power brings people together, while our opponents seek to divide us. In Scotland, we have some difficult truths to face up to – May was the sixth Holyrood election in a row where we have lost votes and seats.
“Scotland knows what we are against. We are against an SNP Government that has been in power too long, a Tory Party that should never be in power again, and a Reform party that would take us and this country to a dark and dangerous place.” He added it is “my job” to tell Scots what Labour is in favour of, including “social justice, good work, good housing, good public services”.
