New trade and industry secretary Patricia Hewitt told trade
unions to stop focusing on protecting jobs and to concentrate on helping their
members compete in the employment market at the annual AEEU conference in
Blackpool.
She said, “There no such thing as a job for life, but there
can be employability for life.”
She also told unions that they need to “redefine their role”
by offering members support services such as redundancy counselling.
TUC General Secretary John Monks said, “There is an
important agenda for people at work in Labour’s second term and I look forward
to working with Patricia Hewitt in improving the quality of working life in a
global economy.”
