A Prospect delegation heard the speech, which touched on:

• the potential implications of George Osborne’s spending review
• the positive impact of trade unions on British society, and
• the Scottish Government’s Fair Work Convention.

Sturgeon described the Conservative’s Trade Union Bill as an “extraordinary and unwarranted assault on some of the social and economic rights we value and have come to take for granted”.

She outlined how trade unions “help employers to create the safe, humane, productive working conditions which head off industrial disputes – and which build better businesses.”

You can read the full transcript of Sturgeon’s speech here.

Prospect organiser John Sinclair said: "While the political landscape in Scotland is currently much more open to working with trade unions than against them, there has never been a greater need to join a union.

"Without members, trade unions have no remit to negotiate and consult on workers' behalf. So encourage your colleagues, friends and family to join Prospect, or their relevant trade union, today."