NEWS RELEASE
17 November 2005 For immediate release
STUC challenges CBI Scotland: put up or shut up on red-tape!
Speaking as CBI Scotland called for a drastic' cut inred-tape',
Grahame Smith, STUC Deputy General Secretary said:
"It really is about time that CBI Scotland put up or shut up on red
tape' and were specific about thered-tape' they want to see go.
Their pronouncements suggest that their perfect business
environment is a free and unregulated Scotland. Do they mean a
Scotland where employers are:
· Free to jeopardise workers' health and safety? · Free from the National Minimum Wage? · Free from equal pay and family friendly legislation? · Free to sprawl, despoil and pollute?
"The STUC will always support measures to assist employers comply with clear and effective regulation. We also recognise that regulation must adapt to keep pace with the changing economy. However, we all should be clear: regulation is absolutely necessary if Scotland really does aspire to
· Sustainable economic development · Healthy and safe workplaces for all · Fair and equal pay for all
"At some stage the penny will drop with Scotland's comedy supply siders and they will be forced to acknowledge that Scotland and the UK's strong labour market performance since 1997 demonstrates that there is not a contradiction between job creation and greater rights at work.
"The STUC believes that the causes of low productivity can be found in inadequate regulation, low pay and low valuation of a