SCOTTISH Labour leader Anas Sarwar has argued his party will tackle the “scourge” of low pay as young workers demand “real action” on age wage discrimination.

Labour’s new Employment Bill “will look to” ban exploitative zero-hour contracts, end fire and rehire, strengthen sick pay, and alleviate in-work poverty, which has ballooned by a staggering 48 per cent under the Tories from 290,000 in 2009-12, to 430,000 in 2020-23. 

Mr Sarwar claimed progress had already been made towards meeting the pledge to scrap age discrimination against 18-20 year-olds after Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner and Employment Secretary Jonanthan Reynolds instructed the low pay commission to begin harmonising the rates.