Labour will scrap zero-hour contracts if they win election, Angela Rayner says

Labour MP Angela Rayner says the party will scrap zero-hours contracts if they win the next general election.

The Labour deputy leader and MP for Ashton-under-Lyne said the pledge would form part of Labour’s ‘new deal for working people’ if Sir Keir Starmer is made Prime Minister at the next election.

Labour said zero-hours contracts have doubled in Scotland in the past decade, from about 46,000 between October and December in 2013, to about 94,000 during the same period last year.

Speaking ahead of the Scottish Trades Union Congress (STUC) in Dundee today, Ms Rayner said: “Scotland has seen an explosion of zero-hours contracts, leaving working people with insecure hours and no guarantee when their next pay cheque will arrive. This disgraceful surge in insecure work risks a race to the bottom.

“Zero-hours working practices often go hand-in-hand with low pay, and working women are disproportionately affected by the scourge of insecure work.”

Criticising the UK and Scottish Governments, she added: “While the Tories and the SNP have failed to deliver the crackdown they promised, the next Labour government will ban zero-hours contracts, safeguard rights at work and raise standards for all. 

“With our New Deal for Working People, Labour has a plan to ensure people have access to fair and secure work. Labour will make Scotland work for working people.”