Unite welcomes Commons redundancy pay debate and calls for action
in budget
13th March 2009
Unite, Britain’s biggest union, has welcomed the successful
second reading of the Statutory Redundancy Pay Amendment bill which
would increase to £500 a week the amount of pay used to calculate
compensation for workers made redundant.
Unite the union is calling on the government to introduce the
measure through the forthcoming budget.
Unite joint general secretary, Tony Woodley, said: “This is a
long-overdue measure to bring statutory redundancy pay up to date.
It was an important element of Labour’s election manifesto, and we
are pleased that it secured the support of so many MPs.
“The provisions debated today to improve statutory redundancy
pay must be implemented urgently, while so many workers face a
threat to their jobs. They need to have that new limit for
redundancy pay in place to help ease hardship.
“The quickest way for this to be done is for the chancellor and
the government to introduce the measure through the forthcoming
budget.”
Unite joint general secretary, Derek Simpson, added: “Now that
we’ve had the debate, it is time for action. Our research shows
that in virtually every constituency in Britain, workers are
dependent on statutory redundancy pay if they lose their jobs. The
Labour MPs who have backed this measure today are clearly aware of
their obligation to those constituents
“The basis for calculating this pay is years out of date. By
introducing a more just and realistic system in the budget, the
government would be offering hope of a fair deal in hard
times.”
ENDS
For further information contact Pauline Doyle on 07976
832861
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