‘Dickensian disgrace’

Hairdressers were among the worst culprits in illegally failing to pay their workers the minimum wage in Scotland.

In total, 19 companies in Scotland were ‘named and shamed’ by the government last week (August 16) for underpaying their employees and were forced to cough up £37,000 in back pay to 100 mainly young workers.

Ten of the 19 firms – more than half – were hairdressers.

One hairdresser in Ayr, Francis John’s Hairdresser, had to pay back more than £4,000 to two of its employees.

Unite Scottish secretary Pat Rafferty slammed companies that flouted the law.

“Day after day Scotland is blighted by employers determined to avoid their legal responsibilities and force their workers to accept poverty wages,” he said.

“Last week’s list of shame is only the tip of the iceberg of what’s going on. The question is what is to be done about this Dickensian disgrace?

“There’s only one answer,” Rafferty noted. “Join a trade union.”

“It seems that a host of hairdressing firms in Scotland are run by modern day Mr and Mrs Micawbers. The people who work for them are being forced to take an illegal wages haircut to boost their employers’ profits.

“Unite Scotland is campaigning today to get these workers to fight this disgrace by joining a trade union. That is the only way to take on this modern day slavery.”

Unite Scotland supports the ‘Better than Zero’ campaign against zero hours contracts and is currently creating a special union campaign to recruit young workers affected by zero hours and others faced with poverty wages in the hospitality industry.

The ‘name and shame’ list of employers in Scotland flouting the law forms part of a larger UK-wide effort from the government to single out employers illegally paying their workers less than the minimum wage, which is now £7.50 for those over 25 and £7.05 aged between 21 and 24.

Argos topped the list of companies failing to pay their workers the minimum wage in the UK, owing nearly ÂŁ1.5m in back pay to 12,000 workers.