Amicus urge stronger employment laws now to save UK
jobs
Monday 12th June 2006
Amicus say the UK’s commitment to weaker employment
protection is costing the country thousands of vital and well paid
jobs and endangering our economy.
Amicus is calling on the government to act now to introduce
stronger job protection after thousands of closures and job losses
have been announced all over the country in recent weeks including
Peugoet in Coventry, Vauxhall in Ellesmere Port, HP in Birmingham
and the Prudential in Belfast.
The union says that the fact that other European countries
such as France, Spain and Germany have stronger employment laws
means UK workers are most vulnerable to redundancy when
multinational companies seek to make cuts or move jobs to low wage
economies to pursue bigger profits.
Soeaking at the union’s conference starting in Scarborough
today, Amicus’ General Secretary, Derek Simpson, will say:
“Successive UK governments have insisted on setting
minimum standards for redundancy in the hope that a ‘flexible’
economy will attract greater and employment and investment here but
the reality is that our workers are just made more
dispensable.
“I haven’t noticed any multinationals creating
jobs here lately but we’re being inundated by news of closures and
job losses at rates that exceed every other European
country.
“We need the government to act, and now. If they
don’t, there won’t be anything left to save and it’s not only UK
workers that will pay the price - they will too at the next
election.”
Amicus has launched a million pound advertising campaign
encouraging the UK public to boycott Peugeot following the
company’s decision to close its UK productive UK site to produce
cars in low wage Slovakia, with the loss of 2,300 jobs.
Amicus say that minimum redundancy pay in some EU countries is
almost five times that of the UK and so, for example a redundancy
in France would cost Peugeot £100,000 compared to a likely average
of £25K that UK Peugeot workers can expect.
Evidence also suggests that flexible labour laws have a
negative impact on the wider economy, In France, for example, which
enjoys much stronger employment protection, and a maximum working
week, productivity is 25% higher than the UK and manufacturing jobs
have increased by 150,000 since 1997.
In Germany, where workplace legislation is also much tougher
than the UK, productivity is 18% higher than the UK and
manufacturing has increased by 120,000 jobs since 1997. Over a
million manufacturing jobs have been lost in the UK over the same
period. Between June 1997 and the end of 2004, the UK has lost 22
per cent of its manufacturing jobs. In France and Germany, the loss
has been between 5% and 6%.
Amicus say though that it’s not just highly skilled and well
paid jobs that are being lost here in the UK, technology and
banking and insurance jobs are being lost abroad just as
quickly.
- Ends -
Please call Catherine Bithell in the Amicus press
office for further information on 020 7420 8909 or 07958 473
224
