Select Committee's business knowledge woeful

Select Committee's business knowledge woeful

Parliament's Commerce Select Committee has little knowledge of the businesses that their recommendations impact upon, according to the Employers & Manufacturers Association (Northern).

The association says the chair of the Select Committee, Mark Peck, proved woefully ignorant on business issues when he stated "the financial dependence of employees on their employer is greater than that of other creditors who are likely to have many sources of income".

"The Select Committee is simply expressing a prejudice in favour of one set of employees over another set," said Alasdair Thompson, EMA's chief executive.

"The prejudice is in favour of the employees made redundant when a business goes insolvent over and above other employees working for other businesses who, as a consequence may not be paid or could have their working conditions cut.

"The Select Committee thinks these other employees somehow have less right to be paid than those first made redundant by recommending the latter's claim for redundancy payouts go up to $15,000.

"Employees have a right to be paid for their work time and holidays owing when a firm goes bust, but other business owners and their employees (creditors) are often just as dependent on an insolvent business.

"The Commerce Select Committee appears ignorant of the domino effect an insolvency causes on the smaller businesses trading and subcontracting to it.

"We're amazed the Select Committee was happy to share its ignorance. It's a reminder there are a group of MP's hostile to business with an extremely shallow idea of how the country pays its bills and their salaries."

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