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4.48 pm
Mr. Eric Illsley (Barnsley, Central): Right hon. and hon. Members on both sides of the House have agreed today that progress in the peace process in Northern Ireland will be greatly assisted by progress in economic development in the Province. Unemployment, although now falling, has been at high levels and long-term and youth unemployment need to be addressed as they are still problematic. Training for work is another area in which progress must be made. Post-16 academic achievement in Northern Ireland is among the highest in the United Kingdom, but a substantial number of 16-year-olds leave school without any qualifications whatever. Training and education are especially important to counter any drift into violence or into the black economy.
As we have heard already, much progress has been made recently. Inward investment has brought new jobs to Northern Ireland, especially that by the companies Seagate and Daewoo, and in 1994-95 the Industrial Development Board successfully negotiated 10 inward investment projects, which promise to provide almost 2,000 jobs. The Local Enterprise Development Unit helped with about 13 new businesses and another 2,500 new jobs. I shall expand on some of the issues that I have just mentioned, especially training, education and unemployment, and suggest some of the Labour party's policy options to deal with them. I shall also refer to one or two other major problem areas, which have been touched on, including the beef industry and electricity prices in the Province.
Some 97 per cent. of businesses in Northern Ireland have fewer than 50 employees, so the small business sector is extremely important. Encouraging small businesses to start up, to expand and to take on new employees is a key factor in generating growth in jobs and income. The Labour party has been examining ways
in which to assist small businesses, including the establishment of a network of commercially managed business development agencies for small businesses, which would raise private finance for long-term investment in small and medium-sized businesses, and a moratorium law, which would give small firms in financial difficulty the time to develop a rescue package and avoid unnecessary bankruptcy. We have also been examining ways in which small businesses can be saved from the dangers of late payment, together with measures to promote prompt payment and greater accountability on the part of public and private sector bodies. It is apparent that the Deputy Prime Minister does not share that attitude. Raising the VAT threshold for small businesses, if they take on a young, unemployed person, is another issue that the Labour party has been examining.
The latest figures from the Department of Economic Development show that, although some 29,000 people currently attend training schemes run by the Training and Employment Agency, more than 8,000 places on training schemes have not been filled. Why are those places remaining unfilled? Are the Government providing the training courses that business and industry actually require? In Northern Ireland, as in the rest of the United Kingdom, people are the country's greatest asset. Labour believes that the skills and abilities of the work force--a well-motivated, well-trained and well-qualified work force--will determine the Northern Ireland economy's ability to compete in the modern world.
It has been said in the past that nothing short of a skills revolution is required in Northern Ireland. That skills revolution requires that education and training move to the centre of economic policy. Northern Ireland needs an education and training system that enables all workers to retrain continually throughout their working lives. That will require a great expansion in education and training measures. The Government's approach--of leaving training to be developed by market forces--has, to a large extent, failed.
Labour's proposals on training will include new opportunities for retraining for people in work by ensuring that companies invest in upgrading the skills of their work force. Companies that fail to train to a certain standard will face a training levy. That factor has been highlighted recently by the problems experienced by Shorts following the collapse of Fokker. The economy in Belfast and Northern Ireland is likely to lose a number of skilled workers unless those who are made redundant from Shorts are retrained and their skills saved.
We propose a Northern Ireland skills audit that will be compared with information available for the whole island of Ireland to identify the skills that are in short supply so that training resources can be targeted on removing bottlenecks and providing the skills that are most likely to lead to employment. We propose to encourage public-private co-operation in training schemes, which would involve formulating methods to encourage high investment in training by private employers and ensuring that public bodies contract out to private companies that are willing to train employees.
We would bring together research in economic development, education, further education, European funding and the skills of the work force in Northern Ireland to create a clear and extensive training policy. We would study potential and actual inward investment in
Northern Ireland to establish a clearer picture of the forms of training that are needed to continue to secure investment.
As I have mentioned, we believe that the way to sustain economic success is through education, training, improved technology and investment. Through education and training, the Government can assist inward investors by providing the skilled and qualified work force they require. That also applies to other areas of the United Kingdom and, in particular, my area in Barnsley and south Yorkshire. We suffer from similarly high unemployment and we do not, as yet, have the skills necessary to attract inward investment to an area that has been decimated by colliery closures during the past few years. Both employers and Government have a shared responsibility to sustain an active and participatory work force, with adequate working conditions and a reasonable wage.
Productivity is increased by a well-motivated and reasonably secure work force, whereas employees who are riddled with job insecurity, fearful of the future and low in morale will lack commitment and cling cautiously to the status quo and resist change, which is the high road to efficiency. Indeed, a recent study by the Northern Ireland Association of Citizens Advice Bureaux documents a rise in employee anxiety and insecurity in Northern Ireland.
In 1994-95, the citizens advice bureaux in Northern Ireland dealt with almost 14,000 queries about employment. They found that employees were unaware of their rights and that many were not involved in trade unions. Employees claimed that employers were changing conditions suddenly and without warning. Many lived in fear of dismissal and, for that reason, felt obliged to accept deteriorating conditions of work.
In addition, workers in Northern Ireland earn less than their British counterparts--they receive 89 per cent. of the average United Kingdom wage. They have some of the lowest wages in the country, second only to certain areas of the north of England. Some 1 per cent. of employees earn less than £2 an hour, and there are still female manual workers in Northern Ireland who earn less than £1.70 an hour.
As well as providing the best possible work force, the Government have a role in securing adequate working conditions for employees. Low wage levels have been found to be counter-productive, as low earnings reduce employees' spending power, which has implications for the housing market and for the consumer confidence that is essential to building an economic recovery.
Mr. Gary Streeter (Plymouth, Sutton):
What will Labour do about low wages?
Mr. Illsley:
Low wages and poor conditions can lead to higher employee turnover and more absenteeism. That has been a particular problem in the clothing industry in Northern Ireland. Employers who have constantly to recruit and retrain incur additional costs. Indeed, a report published this week draws attention to the fact that employee turnover in industry is leading many employers to employ older employees.
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