Sarwar: Family’s firm does not pay all staff living wage

ANAS Sarwar has admitted his family’s business does not pay all employees the ‘living wage’ his party is campaigning on.

The Scottish Labour leader said the firm has good trade union relations but not all employees receive the pay.

Political opponents accused him of ‘hypocrisy’ and said he had been left in a ‘humiliating position’.

Mr Sarwar is not involved in United Wholesale, which was founded by his father Mohammad, but his wife is a shareholder.

He was asked about Labour’s pledge to increase the minimum rate of pay on the BBC’s Sunday Show.

He said: ‘They (United Wholesale) will have to do what everyone will have to do, which is comply with the new deal for working people.

I don’t believe that every single staff member is on the real living wage but I know there have been significant increases in the wage after negotiations with Usdaw, their trade union.’

Scottish Conservative chairman Craig Hoy said: ‘This was a car-crash interview for Anas Sarwar’. He added: ‘The Scottish Labour leader was left in the humiliating position of saying his family firm would be forced by law to pay the real living wage if his party won the election, because they refuse to do so voluntarily.

‘It leaves Anas Sarwar open to the charge of hypocrisy – especially as the controversy over what staff are paid surfaced more than six months ago.’

SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn MP said last night: ‘Anas Sarwar isn’t even the change the workers in his family’s firm need – never mind Scotland.’

He added: ‘The Labour Party has repeatedly watered down their commitments on workers’ rights and it’s no surprise given this astonishing revelation from their most senior figure in Scotland.’

Labour last year accused the SNP of using workers on ‘exploitative zero-hours contracts’ to deliver leaflets during the Rutherglen and Hamilton West by-election.