The CBI and ‘recruitment experts’ Harvey Nash revealed yesterday that half of all employers are planning to freeze pay altogether, and that only 4% plan to make an inflation-beating rise.
The CBI also remarks that ‘fewer employers see the need for some of the more extreme measures required to control costs earlier in the year, such as extended shut-downs, cu
It however remains forever thankful to the trade union leaders who agreed to such cuts and savings saying that ‘the CBI believes the spirit of collaboration that forged these changes remains strong and marks a permanent change that will benefit the UK’s labour market flexibility beyond the recession.’
However, the CBI is not prepared to say that the British slump is over. John Cridland, CBI Deputy Director-General, will only go as far as saying that ‘The worst of the recession may be over but firms remain ultra-cautious about increasing pay.
‘Market conditions continue to be very tough and growth in 2010 will be feeble, so pay is going to be squeezed for some time to come.
‘As unemployment has risen, businesses and staff across the country have had to adapt to new economic realities. Pay cuts to preserve jobs are part of that reality. Given the alarming state of the public finances we must see similar pay restraint in the public sector.’
The CBI is calling for a regime of ‘pay cuts to save jobs’, which unions like Unite agreed at Honda and other industrial plants, to be imposed on the public sector as well.
Cridland adds that ‘The new spirit of cooperation between employers and workers (read union leaders – News Line) will be a real fillip for UK competitiveness as we return to growth, delivering more flexible working and a welcome improvement in the work-life balance.’
The CBI envisages wage cuts for years ahead!
In fact, the workers of Honda are hopping mad at the wage cuts that Unite recommended that they take ‘to save’ their jobs.
Last week Honda announced 500 compulsory redundancies, and workers are now demanding their money back.
Even Unite has had to say that it was conned, and that all that the boss did was to get in the cash to make 500 redundancy payments, without having to pay as much as a penny himself.
Unite officer Jim D’Avila described the sackings as ‘a serious setback for Honda’s recovery’. He warned that many of the workers are very angry because they believe the money saved by the pay cuts is being used to fund redundancies. ‘We’ve made an agreement with the company in good faith. We will be seeking to have the pay cut reinstated because the company has no longer honoured the intention of our negotiations, which was to safeguard 500 jobs.
‘The deal that we struck with them earlier this year was to protect almost 500 jobs in exchange for a pay cut. If they are now saying they are not going to protect those jobs then we want the pay cut to be reinstated. Not only that – the money should be backdated. People looking at this situation will think we have been conned.
‘They see that we took a pay cut to save 500 jobs and now the company is using that money to up the redundancy package.’
No wonder the CBI wants to carry on with the good work, in partnership with the trade union leadership.
Workers must not allow themselves to be conned by this same well-worn trick.
Every job must be defended, and there must be no pay cuts.
There is only one policy for dealing with bosses who cannot continue without mass sackings and wage cuts. They must be nationalised, and the plants put under workers’ control.
The union leaders must be made to carry out this policy.
