The
TUC has hit back at the CBI’s claim that employment tribunals are proving too
costly and adversarial.
Brendan
Barber, general secretary of the TUC, refuted the CBI’s claim that there has
been a long-term increase in tribunal applications, pointing to last year’s
one-off blip in cases relating to dress code at Jobcentres.
He
said the best way for the CBI to reduce tribunal cases would be to encourage
their members to recognise unions and agree fair procedures that can deal with
difficulties without resorting to legal action.
The
CBI should focus on the facts on tribunals, temporary agency workers and
National Minimum Wage, Barber said.
"It
looks as if the CBI is getting ready to oppose any further increases in the
minimum wage, even though the wage helps fewer than was originally planned and
has had no adverse affect on jobs. Nothing could do more to reduce CBI
influence in this debate,” he said.
“The
minimum wage has been a huge success, and further careful increases to boost
the income of the low paid above inflation have always been part of the deal.
Too many CBI members already practice boardroom excess. Now it seems they want
to keep the poor in their place too.”
The
TUC wants the Government to change the law to allow trade unions to bring representative
actions for groups of members. It says this would reduce the overall workload
for tribunals and improve the consistency and fairness of decisions.
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