RICHARD LEONARD pledged yesterday to create a secretary for labour in the Scottish cabinet if he becomes first minister.
In his address to the annual congress of the Scottish TUC, the Scottish Labour leader also said he would make paying the real living wage a “compulsory requirement and an inescapable obligation” for companies bidding for public contracts.
Trade union rights and labour standards would also be stipulated as a requirement for winning public-sector work.
Years of underfunding are eroding Scotland’s local services and deepening inequality in communities, says VINCE MILLS
CWU leader DAVE WARD tells Ben Chacko a strategy to unite workers on class lines is needed – and sectoral collective bargaining must be at its heart
Ahead of next year’s parliamentary elections, ROZ FOYER warns that a bold tax policy is needed to rebuild devastated public services which can serve as the foundation of a strong, fair economy
Having endured 14 years of Tory austerity followed by Starmerite cuts, young voters are desperate for change — but Anas Sarwar’s refusal to differentiate from Westminster means Scottish Labour risks electoral catastrophe, writes LAUREN HARPER



