The
employer campaign against so-called red tape is ‘misleading, based on false
assumptions, and peddles untruths’ according to a new TUC report, Unravelling
the Red Tape Myths.
Employer
organisations claim the costs of implementing new employee rights such as the
minimum wage and working time rules have cost up to £15bn in red tape.
But
the TUC says the figures confuse the administrative costs of reform with the
gains made by employees through getting better wages and paid holidays.
TUC
general secretary elect Brendan Barber, said: "This is not red tape by any
stretch of the imagination, but the simple cost of decency.
"It’s
not too absurd to say this is a bit like claiming the entire UK wages bill is
due to red tape flowing from the end of slavery.
"Anyone
who complains of these so-called burdens on business should say straight out
whether they are against paying people £4.20 an hour and giving rights to paid
holidays.
"The
truth is that some of the world’s most productive economies combine good levels
of rights at work, strong trade unions and low unemployment."
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