Bill Midgley column

Sep 27 2005 By Bill Midgley, The Journal

It's autumn, and the political conference season is upon us, with one down and three to go.

Attendance at the TUC Conference proved a particularly depressing experience, and even if I had anticipated that much of what was being demanded, ie a shorter working week, removal of employment legislation, higher wages, and, in the public sector in particular, no increase in the retirement age, was to be expected, it was nevertheless somewhat alarming in the way these views were expressed.

There is still an alarming view of what might be described as the "bosses", with comments to the effect that the days have gone when workers should provide the means for bosses to spend more time on the golf course, demonstrates little knowledge of what is required in a modern society, and particularly so far as the real relationships between management and the workforce as a whole are concerned.

The class warfare that is still being raged in some areas belongs to past generations. It has to be realised on both sides of industry that the workforce, management and the board room should have one aim, and that is to make businesses more efficient to provide better paid jobs from increasing profits and more stability in employment. It is by working together that this can be achieved.

It may not have escaped the notice of some that unemployment is rising, that inflation is on the increase, and that competition from the world outside of Europe is taking over our jobs and replacing many of our businesses.

At the risk of being accused of being repetitive, our businesses just do not compete. And calls for more concessions, as was heard in Brighton, is not the way forward.

That is not a wish to see a downtrodden workforce; it is a wish to see fairness on both sides. And I for one certainly take no truck with the obscene behaviour of some of our business leaders in the way in which they take grotesque salaries for what might be considered very little input or indeed achievement.

It looks as though we could be in for a long hard winter, particularly on the industrial relations front, with entrenchment on all sides; that is the workforce, the Government and no doubt business if undue demands are made of it at a time when we should be concentrating on developing and expanding our markets.

Perhaps the first battlefield will be on pensions, and no doubt we shall hear somewhat more of that as the conference season progresses.

Bill Midgley is president of the British Chambers of Commerce