THE MSP who speaks for the Scottish Tories on small business is facing criticism after attacking the minimum wage.
The SNP yesterday accused Rachael Hamilton of wanting to undermine workers’ rights and urged her to explain her remarks.
Hamilton, who helps run the Buccleuch Arms hotel in Melrose and tweets as "Hotelierswife", was elected a South Scotland list MSP earlier this month.
In May last year she challenged the basic premise of the minimum wage, which was brought in by Tony Blair’s Labour government in 1999.
She Tweeted: “Why do politicians think they have a right to decide the minimum wage? It's businesses who pay wages.”
The previous month, Hamilton also criticised Scottish Green leader Patrick Harvie for backing a £10 an hour rate instead of the £6.50 it was then.
She wrote: “#patrickharvie get a grip. Business cannot afford a minimum wage of £10/hour. What kind of planet are you on?”
However shortly afterwards, in July 2015, Chancellor George Osborne backed the minimum wage, renaming it the National Living Wage, and promising it would be £9 an hour by 2020.
Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson last week made Hamilton, 45, her party’s “tourism and small business” spokeswoman.
SNP MSP Joan McAlpine said Hamilton’s remarks suggested she would be happy to see employers pay whatever they could get away with.
She said: “These are shocking comments and Rachael Hamilton must explain to her low-paid constituents why their bosses should be free to pay an even lower wage.
“The minimum wage is an essential safeguard against workplace exploitation. As an employer herself you would hope Ms Hamilton would have a more enlightened view of workplace relations – but it appears that if you scratch the surface of Ruth Davidson’s party you get the same old Tories looking for a race to the bottom on workers’ rights and wages."
Last week Hamilton also spoke out against plans for 50-50 gender-balanced boardrooms. “Forcing organisations to strike a gender balance on boards is not the right way to go," she said.
A Tory spokesman said: “Once again we see the double standards of the SNP. Had they had their way, Scotland would not have been covered by the new national living wage, paying £9 an hour by 2020. The SNP needs to explain to small firms across Scotland why making Scotland the highest taxed part of the UK is going to help grow our economy."
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