SCOTLAND should transition to a four-day working week, the co-leader of the Scottish Greens has said.

Speaking on the first day of the Scottish Green Party conference, Patrick Harvie set out a number of measures for a "green New Deal for Scotland's workers".

Outlining policies which Harvie said showed his party was “the party for workers”, the MSP also called for a £10 minimum wage, an end to “restrictive” trade union laws, and the outlawing of zero-hours contracts.

He said this vision of a fairer Scotland was "the reason Scottish Greens support independence".

Harvie said: “New protections for workers and a greater role for unions isn’t just good for workers and good employers, it’s good for our economy too. Because when workers are paid a greater share, the wealth we all generate isn’t left sitting idly in tax havens or squandered on super yachts; it circulates in the real economy.

READ IN FULL: Patrick Harvie's speech to the 2020 Scottish Greens conference

“More taxes are raised, helping to fund public services, and more cash is spent locally – in the shops, cafes, and restaurants that we need to see survive the current crisis.

“This is the principle behind the Scottish Green New Deal that we have proposed.”

While Harvie accepted that “there are limits” to what a devolved government can do, he added: “But let me be very clear: we can make progress by using the powers available to us in Scotland with more ambition than the SNP have shown.

"There is no doubt that we could do more in Scotland with our £11 billion of public procurement every year.

"We need to be innovative and to push the boundaries so that we can go beyond encouragement, and require trade union recognition, no use of tax havens or precarious employment practices, and fair pay."

On the four-day working week, Harvie said companies around the world had found it had improved staff morale.

"The evidence shows time and time again that reducing working hours whilst maintaining pay increases productivity and wellbeing," he said.

"It's a win-win for workers and employers, and the only barrier to delivering it is habit, and in many workplaces a culture of presenteeism.

"For many, Covid is already forcing them to question this culture. Now is the time for us to deliver the change."

Harvie’s claim that his party is the party for workers came with several attacks on Scottish Labour, which he said has “little to show for [four years in this parliament] apart from scars from their endless infighting”.

READ MORE: Patrick Harvie: We must put what matters before photo ops and soundbites

He said Labour voters “see their party, which blocked the devolution of employment law, now scrapping with the Tories for a shrinking share of a declining anti-independence vote”.

Answering questions from the media following his speech, he said the SNP had failed to attach "fair work" conditions to publicly-funded grants and loans offered by the Scottish Government to business.

Asked about new, smaller parties who intend to run in next year's elections, he said the Greens had shown their "track record" over the two decades of devolution.

"Many people who support independence do think the SNP need to be pushed beyond their comfort zone," he said.

"And I think they can see that the Greens are the ones with a track record of doing that successfully.

"We'll look forward to the May election, standing on our record, and I think the polls at the moment show we have the potential to make gains right across the country."

Commenting on Harvie's speech, a Scottish Government spokesperson said: “As stated in the Programme for Government, we will continue to work across the public sector to influence and empower buyer, supplier and key stakeholder communities to use public procurement to support a green recovery, and our wider climate and circular economy ambitions, embedding climate considerations in organisational procurement strategies by 2021, and reporting progress in annual procurement reports.

"We will also expect the use of all relevant procurement activities to be an opportunity to promote fair working practices for the benefit of those working on public contracts.”

You can read Harvie's speech in full here.