UK's Hire and Fire Regime Unlikely to be the Primary Cause of Job Losses at Ellesmere Port, Says The Work Foundation

LONDON, May 17, 2006 -- Responding to the announcement of up to 900 job losses at GM's Vauxhall plant at Ellesmere Port today, David Coats, associate director at The Work Foundation said:

"Unions are right that employment protection laws are less strict than in many of our European neighbours. But they are wrong to argue labour law is the key factor in this business location decision.

"Few businesses take decisions of this magnitude primarily on the basis of labour law alone - ease of hire and fire is but one aspect in the mix. There are many other issues that are more significant - skill levels, likely returns on investment, access to markets, patterns of demand and transport infrastructure.

"What is more, although statutory redundancy compensation in the UK is relatively low, in unionised workplaces agreements will be in place offering redundancy compensation broadly comparable to that available in other European countries. It is not significantly cheaper to dismiss a unionised worker in Britain than it is to do so in, say, France or Germany.

"In principle, consultation arrangements about threats to employment are uniform across the European Union, having been specified in three EU directives(i). There may be problems with ensuring employers comply with these obligations in the UK - but that is a matter of enforcement, rather than a gap in the law.

"It is workers outside collective agreements with no access to a union who have real cause for complaint when they compare their own situation with that of their peers in other European nations.."

Notes to Editors:

- David Coats is available for interview

- (i) The three directives are the European Works Council Directive (1994); the Collective Redundancies Directive (1975); and the Information and Consultation directive (2002).

- The Work Foundation is an independent research organisation and consultancy. It exists to inspire and deliver improvements to performance through improving the quality of working life.

www.theworkfoundation.com

Media inquiries to Stephen Overell, +44-(0)207-004-7225, Email address: soverell@theworkfoundation.com