Labour job boost plan vows £500 payments
SCOTTISH Labour is outlining its plan to help people stay in work or find new jobs.
Scottish party leader Anas Sarwar is aiming to help people who are out of work, furloughed or in at-risk industries to retrain to find high-skilled jobs.
Under Labour’s plan,
people who qualify would receive £500 to pay for training.
Sarwar revealed that the number of people who could qualify would reach 600,000, and the policy would extend in the future to sectors going through transformation, such as oil and gas.
He said: “This pandemic has created a jobs crisis in Scotland, and it is far from over.
“More than 360,000 of our fellow citizens in Scotland are still on furlough and by June a further 210,000 are expected to be unemployed. That ends in September and many are anxious about whether they will have a job to go back to.
“Put simply, we have five months to come up with a plan to stop mass unemployment.
“That’s why it’s time to ditch the old politics of division and focus instead on national recovery so that we can protect and create jobs.”
Meanwhile, the Conservatives said the success of the vaccine programme means First Minister Nicola Sturgeon should offer more hope on easing lockdown further and faster.
Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross said: “The vaccine scheme has been a tremendous Scottish and UK success story.
“It’s shown once again that we are better off working together across the United Kingdom.
“But more than that, it’s opened up the possibility of getting the country back to normal a bit faster than we might have imagined possible only a few months ago.
“While we can’t lose focus on the health crisis or the looming jobs crisis, the public health data is now much more encouraging.
“We must continue to be cautious but we can now start to look forward to easing restrictions more optimistically.
“Nicola Sturgeon must outline a more hopeful plan.”
The SNP will today unveil plans for social security in Scotland including replacing the £25 UK Cold Weather Payment, based on temperatures, with an annual £50 Winter Heating Payment.
Sturgeon said: “Since the Social Security Act was passed in 2018, the SNP Government has built a brand-new social security system from scratch – one that has the principles of dignity, fairness and respect at its heart.
“We’re using these new powers to make a real difference to families across Scotland.”
The LibDems yesterday voiced scepticism over plans for vaccine passports that are being considered.
Leader Willie Rennie said “This is grossly unfair to the millions who have not been vaccinated yet and to those who have been advised not to take the vaccine.
“It is a massive step for the state to insist that people be vaccinated before accessing everyday services.
“People should have a chance to have a say on this major development. The impact on young people and the risk of abuse are serious.”
The Scottish Greens announced plans to upgrade and decarbonise Scotland’s railways in a bid to create nearly 17,000 jobs.
The party’s Rail For All programme is a £22 billion upgrade for Scotland’s railways, aiming to reduce carbon emissions and better connect communities by rail with new stations and shifting goods traffic from the roads on to the tracks.
Greens co-leader Patrick Harvie said: “Our proposals to upgrade Scotland’s railways are ambitious and transformative, but the climate emergency demands no less.
“Rail for All would improve inter-city services, upgrade regional links and open new stations across the country. It would help shift freight on to rail and reduce traffic levels on our roads.
“This will be crucial in cutting Scotland’s emissions.
“Successive governments have favoured roads over railways, but the Scottish Greens recognise the urgent need to reverse that, which is why we are asking people to vote like our future depends on it in May.”