Philippa Lamb asks Labour’s Employment Relations Minister, Lord Young, Conservative’s Shadow Business Minister Jonathan Djanogly MP, and the Liberal Democrat’s Shadow Business Secretary John Thurso MP for their opinions on what sort of job the Government is making of the current economic situation.
Jonathan Djanogly thinks the Government is not doing well. He outlines three priorities to ensure that confidence can be regained.
John Thurso says that the Government handled the crisis reasonably well, but wants more clarity on how these aims are to be achieved.
Lord Young worries about being too severe too quickly. He outlines the measures already announced and praises the Chancellor’s cautious approach.
Philippa wonders if there has been too much workplace legislation. Listen to Lord Young as he outlines what his Government has done to reduce ‘red tape’. Jonathan describes prospective Conservative policies that would help businesses by re-assessing some of Labour’s employment law. John Thurso believes the tax system is unfair. Listen to his party’s remedies to balance the burden and bureaucracy.
Flexible working is next for discussion: Philippa observes that ‘family friendly’ is beginning to be a buzz phrase in the run-up to the General Election. Lord Young outlines what his party has done to help families and how this has fed in to the economy. Jonathan agrees that employment law must reflect the need for flexible working for both employees and employers. John Thurso for the Liberal Democrats would like to go much further than the two main parties while keeping in mind the size of the business. See if you agree as John outlines in more depth, what his party would like to consider .
Philippa switches her attention to productivity. Lord Young points out what his Government has done to address the UK’s comparatively low productivity and says there is more to be done on the employee engagement front. Jonathan makes a contentious claim about apprenticeships, hotly denied by Lord Young. John Thurso looks at the bigger picture.
Two final questions from Philippa, to which the answers must be a testing yes or no. The questions: should the minimum wage be increased in 2010? Should there be a High Pay Commission?
Interesting links
You may like to know more about the party spokesmen giving their views in the podcast by going to the link below:
The CIPD has a suggested manifesto of ideas it would like to see considered by the next Government. It's called Platform 2010: a recovery that works.
Our Public Policy area gives information on CIPD’s interaction with Government on workplace issues.
There was a mention of employee engagement: if you would like to know more on that topic, please use the following link:
There's a new CIPD podcast every month. Coming soon.. Building Authentic Organisations.. and more.