THE CONSTRUCTION industry must get more support to prevent a 'tidal wave' of job losses.
Scottish labour leader Richard Leonard called for the Scottish Government to include the construction sector in its jobs guarantee scheme.
He argues that more than 164,000 people are employed in the sector in Scotland, which has the second-highest uptake in the furlough scheme at 73 per cent.
In order to prevent a huge number of job losses when the scheme comes to an end next month, Mr Leonard said Holyrood ministers must step in and provide targeted support.
He said: "With the furlough scheme coming to an end, we simply cannot allow so many construction workers to be made redundant.
“These are vital skilled jobs that will be incredibly important in the building projects and infrastructure development that is needed for Scotland to recover from this crisis.
“The UK government must extend the furlough scheme for the hardest-hit sectors of the economy. And the Scottish Government must also implement targeted support for the construction sector.
“If we are to build back better, we must ensure that Scotland’s builders are ready to do their part.”
He said that the sector will be essential in providing economic recovery from the pandemic in Scotland, but it would be unable to do so if lockdowns prevent it from reopening fully.
Around 90,000 people who work in construction are thought to have benefitted from the UK Government's furlough scheme so far.
The Scottish Government and SNP politicians have repeatedly called for an extension to the job-saving scheme to ensure there is not a surge in unemployment on November 1, when it finishes.
However chancellor Rishi Sunak has said it would give people false hope to extend it, and the Prime Minister said doing so would be keeping people in"suspended animation".
last week the Westminster Treasury committee, with a majority of Tory MPs, recommended the furlough scheme be extended in areas particularly badly affected by coronavirus, such as food and accommodation services and the arts.
A REPORT into the review of Scotland's school curriculum must be published before the Holyrood elections.
Scottish Lib Dem leader Willie Rennie has demanded an interim report into the OECD's review of Curriculum for Excellence be published ahead of the 2021 poll.
He said that it will be even more vital to "inform the debate" in the lead up to the Scottish Parliament vote following the latest exams fiasco.
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is currently reviewing the curriculum for excellence, and has expanded its remit to include assessments and qualifications since the saga over exam results earlier this year.
The expansion was revealed in a letter sent by the First Minister to Willie Rennie, which read::“My officials are also having discussions with the OECD on widening the remit of the ongoing independent review of Curriculum for Excellence to include recommendations on how to transform Scotland’s approach to assessment and qualifications, based on global best practice.”
In August thousands of pupils from typically lower-performing schools had their marks downgraded, with many taking to the streets in protest before the government was forced to reassess the exams grading scheme.
Education secretary John Swinney agreed to revise the marks and use estimates teachers had provided instead grades calculated using a flawed algorithm.
In April the Scottish Government announced the OECD review would be delayed by four months, and would be published in June 2021 rather than February that year.
Mr Rennie said it is essential that at least a partial publication of the findings will be essential prior to the May vote.
Mr Rennie said: "The First Minister said that education was her top priority but Scotland has been slipping down the international standards.
“Then came the summer of exam chaos, sparked because her government ignored warning after warning that they were about to deal a crushing blow to pupils’ ambitions and penalise pupils from poorer backgrounds most.
"The Scottish Government must now ask the OECD to publish an interim report before the election to properly inform the debate. The public deserve to hear these expert opinions on where Scottish education is going before they are asked to vote on political parties’ proposals for the next five years.
“Ministers might be interested in pushing this expert independent scrutiny entirely into the next Parliament, but it's not in the interests of Scottish education."
A Scottish Government spokesman said: "A REPORT into the review of Scotland's school curriculum must be published before the Holyrood elections.
Scottish Lib Dem leader Willie Rennie has demanded an interim report into the OECD's review of Curriculum for Excellence be published ahead of the 2021 poll.
He said that it will be even more vital to "inform the debate" in the lead up to the Scottish Parliament vote following the latest exams fiasco.
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is currently reviewing the curriculum for excellence, and has expanded its remit to include assessments and qualifications since the saga over exam results earlier this year.
The expansion was revealed in a letter sent by the First Minister to Willie Rennie, which read::“My officials are also having discussions with the OECD on widening the remit of the ongoing independent review of Curriculum for Excellence to include recommendations on how to transform Scotland’s approach to assessment and qualifications, based on global best practice.”
In August thousands of pupils from typically lower-performing schools had their marks downgraded, with many taking to the streets in protest before the government was forced to reassess the exams grading scheme.
Education secretary John Swinney agreed to revise the marks and use estimates teachers had provided instead grades calculated using a flawed algorithm.
In April the Scottish Government announced the OECD review would be delayed by four months, and would be published in June 2021 rather than February that year.
Mr Rennie said it is essential that at least a partial publication of the findings will be essential prior to the May vote.
Mr Rennie said: "The First Minister said that education was her top priority but Scotland has been slipping down the international standards.
“Then came the summer of exam chaos, sparked because her government ignored warning after warning that they were about to deal a crushing blow to pupils’ ambitions and penalise pupils from poorer backgrounds most.
"The Scottish Government must now ask the OECD to publish an interim report before the election to properly inform the debate. The public deserve to hear these expert opinions on where Scottish education is going before they are asked to vote on political parties’ proposals for the next five years.
“Ministers might be interested in pushing this expert independent scrutiny entirely into the next Parliament, but it's not in the interests of Scottish education."
A spokesman for Economy Secretary Fiona Hyslop said: " The Scottish Government has been working closely with the construction sector on a recovery plan for the industry, and we continue to do everything we can with the financial powers currently at our disposal to help businesses, with our total support now exceeding £2.3 billion.
"But it is not enough for Scottish Labour to demand that the Tories extend furlough – they should join with us in demanding the necessary powers for Scotland so that we can take the action needed ourselves and so that jobs and the economy are not threatened by decisions taken by Boris Johnson."
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