Column: Kevin Rowan

Sep 1 2009 by Kevin Rowan, The Journal

THERE is no doubt at all that the Network Rail proposal to route high-speed rail entirely up the West coast would guarantee that the regional economic disparities endured in the North East would be exacerbated.

High-speed rail, for economic and sustainable development reasons, is essential; nationally the benefits are significant and for those areas where there will be access the connectivity will be a massive economic boost. For the entire eastern half of the country and major cities like Leeds to be ignored is an atrocious proposal and one the Government must reject.

The rumblings of economic and political commentators are that we are already moving into positive growth. This is positive news, of course it is. However, it is going to be some time before we start to feel better and some time before the benefits of growth impacts on workers and families in the region.

The fact is there remains an overwhelming lack of business confidence in the region. There are good reasons for medium and long-term optimism, especially in the renewables sectors, but the short-term picture remains fairly bleak. Secondly, this recession has been different in the way employers and employees have responded. More than at any other time the use of short-time working, four-day weeks, temporary lay-offs have been exercised as a way of seeking to reduce costs but maintain staff and stay in business. When things do begin to pick up, later this year and early next, the first thing that is going to happen is the hours worked by the current workforce are going to increase.

There will, of course, be an impact when this happens, increasing spending power and improving confidence, but it will do very little to quickly address the significant increase in unemployment that we have and continue to witness. Unemployment, including economic inactivity, is still increasing. Where workers are moving from unemployment into work, the pattern seems to be it is those who have been out of work for the shortest period who are moving into work, not unexpectedly, employers are much more likely to see this group as most ‘work ready’.

The really worrying underlying concern that is emerging very quickly is the spectre of long-term unemployment. Those who had been out of work before the recession started now appear much further alienated from work and in the last year we have seen the numbers of long-term unemployed young workers growing at a frighteningly fast pace.

There is always a lag between economic growth and employment growth, a key focus for public policy moving forward must be how we can introduce active labour market policies that tackle long-term unemployment. Future Jobs Fund and other measures in the young people’s guarantee are a start, but we are clearly going to need more.

Kevin Rowan, regional secretary, Northern TUC