Scotland's Economy

Encouraging fair work and improving skills.

June 16, 2022 by Tom Arthur MSP No Comments | Category Economy

“Retailers have played and continue to play a vital role in creatively supporting our communities and the Scottish Government is committed to working with them to deliver a strong, prosperous and vibrant retail sector.

I am delighted to announce that Andrew Murphy, Chief Operating Officer for the John Lewis Partnership, will join me to co-chair the Industry Leadership Group, which will drive future revitalisation and oversee the delivery of our Retail Strategy for Scotland.

With 30 years working in the retail industry, including as former Chair of the Scottish Retail Consortium, Andrew brings a wealth of retail experience to this important co-chairing role. Andrew is the first to join the new Retail Industry Leadership Group – a partnership which will include the Scottish Government, retail businesses and workers’ representatives – at a crucial time as the industry continues to rapidly transform, and one of our first priorities will be to improve fair work practices across the sector.

Together, we will work to unlock opportunities to grow businesses and the economy, improve wellbeing and address inequalities, and support progress towards our ambitious climate change targets.

The Industry Leadership Group will focus on delivering the following priorities:

• Harnessing the opportunities in the National Strategy for Economic Transformation that will directly support the retail sector
• Developing a Fair Work Agreement, which encourages retail businesses to demonstrate their commitment to Fair Work principles
• Delivering a sustainable, forward looking retail sector that is responsive and able to adapt to changing consumer behaviours
• Overseeing the development of a Skills Audit and Action Plan for the sector, in partnership with Skills Development Scotland and others
• Developing a Just Transition Plan for retail, to guide the sector’s path to net zero.

The retail strategy builds on the strengths of the sector – so that it is successful, resilient, sustainable and profitable to the benefit of all of Scotland. As Andrew points out: “I’m delighted to have this opportunity to work with the Scottish Government and other key stakeholders to further the success of the Scottish retail industry and build on the momentum established during the development of ‘A Retail Strategy for Scotland’. I know that all 240,000 of Scotland’s retail workers will be behind the Industry Leadership Group as it seeks to deliver a sustainable, fair and prosperous future for the industry and all of those who rely on it.”

We want to support innovation and entrepreneurship, and seize opportunities from new technology and markets, to boost productivity and grow businesses.

In this way, our retailers can benefit from and contribute to the bold programme of actions that will transform our economy over the next decade.

I invite you to read the Retail Strategy for Scotland

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Tags: Retail

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