LABOUR SHIFTING BURDEN OF AUSTERITY ONTO WORKING PEOPLE

Labour’s tax hike on working people has faced fresh criticism today – after confirmation that it would cost thousands of public sector workers the entirety of their additional pay rise for the year.  
 
In 2015/16, the Scottish Government gave public sector workers earning below £21,000 a minimum pay rise of £300 – for 2016/17 this will be increased by £100 to £400 and the threshold increased to £22,000, meaning 59,000 workers are eligible. 
 
Under Labour’s regressive plans announced yesterday, a worker earning £21,000 would see the entirety of the increase in the pay rise wiped out. 
 
Commenting, SNP MSP Stewart Maxwell said:
 
“We already knew that Labour’s tax hike on workers would hit low earners the hardest and shift the burden of austerity onto working people – now it’s clear that their plans would completely wipe out the additional pay rises of thousands of public sector workers in Scotland. 
 
“59,000 public sector workers in Scotland – including 48,000 NHS staff – are in line for an additional pay boost under the SNP’s plans.  The idea that Labour want to completely wipe out this pay rise for thousands of people in order to make Scottish workers pay for Tory austerity is completely unacceptable. 
 
“The more we hear about Labour’s cynical, unfair and unworkable tax grab – the quicker it falls apart in front of our eyes.  This plan clearly isn’t worth the back of a fag packet it was written on. 

“The difference between the SNP and Labour is that we want to give the lowest paid a pay rise, while Labour want to give them a tax rise – and Kezia Dugdale will have to answer for these regressive plans at the Scottish Parliament elections in just three months’ time.”