Trade Union Bill meant to control Scottish Government, says Sturgeon
Nicola Sturgeon has accused the UK Government of using its plan to limit the activities of trade unions to impose its illiberal'' worldview on Scotland and control its devolved government.
The First Minister said the Trade Union Bill has no other conceivable purpose'' than to discourage trade union membership.
She said proposals to criminalise the deduction of union dues by direct debit is an extraordinary attempt to control how we act as an employer''.
In advance extracts from her Jimmy Reid Memorial lecture on Tuesday, Ms Sturgeon said: Industrial relations in Scotland are strong, and so the UK Government's proposed Trade Union Bill is based on a worldview we don't recognise.
It sees the relationship between employers and unions as one of conflict rather than co-operation.
In my view, it doesn't contain a single proposal which would ever be passed by the current Scottish Parliament.
It does not reflect the reality of industrial relations here, or the nature of public opinion. It offers illiberal solutions to a problem which doesn't exist in Scotland.''
The Bill would restrict the amount of time employees can spend on union duties and end the direct debit of union dues from pay cheques, known as check-off''.
She added: The Scottish Government, as an employer, has been operating a check-off facility for years. The costs are so minimal that we have never charged unions for it.
The UK Government doesn't just want to stop using check-off procedures itself, it wants to make them illegal for the Scottish Government.
It's an extraordinary attempt to control how we act as an employer. It demonstrates that fundamentally, the UK Government wants to discourage union membership. The provision has no other conceivable purpose.''
She repeated her call for Scotland to be exempt from the Bill, or for Holyrood to be handed the right of veto.