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FOUR out of five new jobs created in Scotland since 2010 are low paid, with 180,000 workers trapped in zero-hour contracts.

Boasts by Con-Dem ministers that employment is on the up have been undermined by official figures that show 23,000 of the 27,000 new positions are poorly paid.

Analysis reveals 82 per cent of the jobs are in areas such as clothing, retail, hospitality, cleaning, hairdressing, agriculture and food processing – all

categorised as low earning.

The findings were revealed by Shadow Scots Secretary Margaret Curran.

The research comes as official figures show the number of zero-hour contracts in the UK soared from 1.4million to 1.8million, according to the Office for National Statistics.

STUC general secretary Grahame Smith said: “These figures are extremely alarming and confirm the Government’s half-hearted attempts to tackle this exploitation are failing.

“With 1.8million UK workers now having contracts of employment that offer no fixed hours, the world of work is in chaos.

“Large corporations post large profits, directors and executives take large salaries and bonuses but their workers, exposed to zero hour contracts, suffer the loss of employment protection and benefits.

“This is not about flexibility, it’s quite simply about employers having control over the working and personal lives of their workers.”

Speaking in the House of Commons, Curran said jobs created in textiles, leisure, residential and child care were also included in low pay figures.

The Glasgow East MP said: “This Government stands up for the wrong people.

“They help out their friends who have been avoiding their taxes.

“But they don’t help those who work hard, play by the rules and don’t even get a decent wage in return.”

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