SCOTTISH Labour has hit out at swingeing cuts to the Fair Work Initiative imposed by the SNP-Green Scottish government.

The latest Scottish budget slashes the scheme’s funding by £50 million, which would have been spent on supporting the efforts of the Fair Work in Social Care group.

The group had already agreed to prioritise winning sick pay and maternity and paternity pay before moving on to annual leave entitlement, pensions and ending zero-hour contracts, as it continues its fight for workers in the third and private sectors to gain the rights already enjoyed by their council colleagues.