Chamber and committees

What do you envisage the challenge to be? You have touched on that a wee bit.

Good afternoon. Following on from my colleague’s questions, is there a higher prevalence of suicide in rural areas as opposed to urban areas? Are there any stats on that?

Thank you.

I will move on to my own questions. Do you feel that people with lived and living experience of suicide have been meaningfully involved in the development of the strategy?

What do you envision that the challenges will be in implementing the strategy?

In what way can people with lived and living experience of suicide be involved in the implementation of the strategy? What challenges do you envisage with that?

In relation to lived experience and engagement.

I refer members to my entry in the register of members’ interests, as I am a member of the trade union Unison. I thank my colleague Bill Kidd for bringing this important debate to the chamber.

The Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 sets out the framework for managing workplace health and safety in the United Kingdom. It was put in place 50 years ago to help to prevent workplace accidents, illness and death, during a time of particularly dangerous working conditions in mines and factories. Alongside the gains from increasing membership of trade unions, the 1974 act has led to more tangible improvements in workplace conditions. It has ensured that staff receive training on health and safety procedures and that a safe working environment is maintained. It has laid down extensive requirements on employers to protect all their employees, including temporary and casual workers, and even visitors and the public. It has resulted in the number of fatal injuries to employees falling by 73 per cent—although the rate is still too high—while the number of reported non-fatal injuries dropped by 70 per cent between 1974 and 2007.

Clydebank—my home town and part of my constituency—has a rich industrial heritage as the hub of manufacturing and shipbuilding. For decades, workers in Clydebank made a huge contribution to the economy while working in extremely dangerous conditions. For those workers, the 1974 act brought about improvements to their working conditions. It led to the greater use of protective equipment and training programmes, which empowered workers to look after themselves and others in the workplace.

There is no doubt that the 1974 act has saved lives. However, despite the massive improvements, many workers in Clydebank continued to work with asbestos, and it was only 25 years on from the passing of the act that that was fully banned in the UK. By that time, the damage had been done, and the effects can be felt to this day as those who previously worked in such industries are diagnosed with asbestos-related health conditions such as pleural plaques or types of cancer such as mesothelioma and lung cancer.

The fight continues for those who are affected, and their families, to receive justice and compensation. That is why I spoke, alongside others, at Truth and Justice Square in Clydebank at the weekend, to mark international workers memorial day. We remembered those who have died and pledged to fight for the living. We also marked the sad passing of Bob Dickie and Hope Robertson, who were stalwarts of the Clydebank Asbestos Group.

Unfortunately, there are still hundreds of fatal injuries and thousands of non-fatal injuries in workplaces in the UK every year. As the nature of work continues to evolve, we must be mindful of the new hazards and risks to our workers. In particular, we must acknowledge that the mental health and emotional wellbeing of our employees is a huge part of employee health. Ensuring that workers have an open and supportive work environment has never been more important, and we must strive for continuous improvements and best practice to keep up with how the workplace is changing in order to protect our workers.

All employees deserve to feel safe and secure in their workplace. Being in a safe environment allows workers to thrive and reach their full potential. So, as my colleague Bill Kidd noted, it is now time for us all to come together to examine what steps we can take to ensure that employment law continues to deliver for the workers of Scotland. The general wellbeing of our employees will be improved only with the scrapping of exploitative zero-hours contracts and the banning of unpaid trial shifts, as both of those practices are exploitative and do nothing to protect our workers’ general wellbeing, but the UK Government will not deliver on that. Only with employment law and health and safety law controlled by the Scottish Government, in an independent Scotland, will our workers’ rights and protections truly be upheld.

Good morning. As the convener said, I will cover appeal hearings, so I will direct my questions to the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service. From the figures that you have provided, in-person hearings are either non-existent or minuscule. I note figures of 0 per cent in 2022-23 and 1 per cent in 2023-24. Why is that the case?

Your figures suggest that more people were seen in person during Covid than are being seen in person now, but I will take that answer.

The committee has heard concerns that it is more difficult for the tribunal to assess appellants’ needs over the telephone compared with seeing them in person, given the nature of what they are dealing with. What are your views on that?

That is good to hear, too.

Does the tribunal service expect that the change in approach will lead to an increase in face-to-face hearings? If so, what preparations are being made to accommodate that? You covered that earlier, but could you expand on that?