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11 Feb 2003 : Column 807—continued
Alan Johnson: If we can separate that issue from the Bill, which I know he appreciates is narrowly focused on arrears, we can look at it. It is a bit like the issue of young workers, which has been raised by other hon. Members. We can deal with that through secondary legislation, and we have got the Low Pay Commission to look into it for us. I want to ask our enforcement officers about the specific points that my hon. Friend has raised. He has raised them before and they are very important. The original decision on tipping, as it appears in the National Minimum Wage Act 1998, was based on the fact that, in some areas of employment—restaurants, in particular—pooled tips are often paid through the payroll as part of the contract of employment. That is my understanding of the argument, although I was not
on the Committee that considered that Bill. Let us address that matter separately, however, because I want to look at the specific issues that my hon. Friend raised.
Mr. Bellingham: The Minister mentioned that he would like to separate the issue of tipping from this mini-Bill, but the Bill is about enforcement. Might there be an opportunity in Committee to go back to this issue, and perhaps to table an amendment to make it illegal for employers to pool tips in a way that means they become part of the minimum wage calculation? Would it not be reasonable to consider that in Committee?
Alan Johnson: Let us look at the issue in Committee in respect of enforcement. It would be a mistake to widen the scope of the Bill, but let us deal with that in Committee.
Annabelle Ewing: I would like to go back a few sentences to the Minister's reference to a point that I raised earlier about the inherent age discrimination against young workers in the present legislation. He mentioned that the matter could be dealt with through secondary legislation. What plans do the UK Government now have to deal with this problem?
Alan Johnson: I cannot let this matter lie. I am not talking about age discrimination; I am talking about a decision taken by the House. In the experience of many other countries, introducing a national minimum wage for 16 and 17-year-olds, in particular, takes the focus away from education and harms the ability of those who leave school at that age to get work. Further experience shows that 18 to 21-year-olds who have a minimum wage, albeit set at a different level, are in a similar position. This is a crucial issue.
The reason that the implementation of the minimum wage has been so successful is that we confounded all the critics. We have a minimum wage, and 1.4 million more people in work. Had we failed to achieve that, we might perhaps have made an argument that would have gone down well as oratory at union conferences, but which could well have destroyed the principle of the minimum wage in this country, which was very reluctant to adopt it in the first place. Labour Members will remember that it was not only Conservative Members who opposed it 20 or 30 years ago; the British trade union movement did so as well. We need to remember that the idea grew roots. To answer the question put by the hon. Member for Perth, the Low Pay Commission has been asked specifically to look again at the rates for 18 to 21-year-olds, and for 16 and 17-year-olds. The Low Pay Commission is a piece of social partnership in action, and I believe that it has done a tremendous job.
I have strayed off the subject slightly, Madam Deputy Speaker, but I was provoked into doing so. I would now like to commend to the House this very positive approach to these matters. The Bill is crucial to a very vulnerable group of workers. It might not be the most important piece of business that we conduct this week, and it might not attract the most attention, but it is crucial to that group of workers and I look forward to debating the issues again in Committee.
Bill accordingly read a Second time.
NATIONAL MINIMUM WAGE (ENFORCEMENT NOTICES) BILL [LORDS] [MONEY]
Queen's recommendation having been signified—
Motion made, and Question put forthwith, pursuant to Standing Order 52(1)(a) (Money resolutions and ways and means resolutions in connection with Bills),
- That for the purposes of any Act resulting from the National Minimum Wage (Enforcement Notices) Bill [Lords], it is expedient to authorise the payment out of money provided by Parliament of any increase attributable to the Act in the sums payable out of money so provided under any other Act.—[Mr. Jim Murphy.]
Northern Ireland
3.9 pm
The Minister of State, Northern Ireland Office (Jane Kennedy): I beg to move,
- That the draft Northern Ireland Arms Decommissioning Act 1997 (Amnesty Period) Order 2003, which was laid before this House on 23rd January, be approved.
Section 2 of the 1997 Act, as amended by the Northern Ireland Arms Decommissioning (Amendment) Act 2002, requires that a scheme must identify the amnesty period, and that it must end before 27 February 2003 unless the Secretary of State, by order, appoints a later day. The purpose of the order is to extend that period until midnight on 25 February next year.
In April last year, shortly after we renewed these provisions, the Independent International Commission on Decommissioning reported witnessing an event in which the IRA leadership had put a varied and substantial quantity of ammunition, arms and explosive material beyond use. The Government welcomed that news because it showed that the decommissioning act during October 2001 had not been an isolated event. However, over the last year most of the news has been less encouraging. The Colombian episode continued to unfold, and paramilitary violence on the streets, consisting of both assaults and shootings, has continued unabated. The break-in at Castlereagh and the intelligence-gathering operation at Stormont further contributed to the general loss of confidence among the parties.
Unionism needs to be confident that republicanism is fully committed to peaceful and democratic means, and nationalists need to know that Unionism is genuinely committed to making the institutions work. It was against that background, that, regrettably, my right hon. Friend the Member for Hamilton, North and Bellshill (Dr. Reid) decided to suspend the Assembly.
The Government remain totally committed to the full implementation of the Belfast agreement, but my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister made it clear in his speech in Belfast last October that we had come to the fork in the road. It is time for everyone in Northern Ireland to choose the peaceful and democratic path. It is time for acts of completion. There must be an end to all paramilitary activity. If that commitment is given we can implement the rest of the agreement, including normalisation, in its entirety, and not in stages but together.
My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has been working tirelessly with all involved to try to find a way to restore devolved government as soon as possible. Tomorrow my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister and the Taoiseach will be engaged in bilateral discussions with the parties, with a view to moving the process forward. No one believes that that will be easy: the IRA, the Ulster Volunteer Force and the Red Hand Commando have suspended contact with the Independent International Commission on Decommissioning. We regret that. It is not the way in which to secure progress and I urge those organisations to re-engage with General de Chastelain at the earliest opportunity: it is essential that this vital aspect of the agreement be honoured in full.
We have said many times that it is time for violence and the threat of violence to be taken out of politics for ever and for all sides to demonstrate that they are totally committed to peaceful and democratic means. That process has begun and, although it is currently in a difficult phase, the Government must continue to provide the legal framework necessary to make full decommissioning a reality. We will do that through this order.
The House will know of the so-called 'loyalist' feud that has claimed eight lives over recent months, and of the misery and suffering that it has inflicted on the local community. That too only serves to underline the need to make real and substantial progress towards a peaceful society in Northern Ireland where weapons no longer circulate freely. We need to see the end of the mindset that says the retention of arms provides a useful lever in negotiations. As my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister pointed out, that simply makes it impossible for others to engage.
What stands in the way of the fulfilment of the Belfast agreement is the threat of violence. Remove that—end the activity of paramilitary organisations completely and for good—and we can begin to rebuild the trust and confidence necessary to restore stable and inclusive institutions, so that the democratic vision of Northern Ireland that we all share can become a reality. There are even signs from within the Democratic Unionist party that in such circumstances the party would feel able to do business with Sinn Fein. That is surely a measure of the potent appeal of devolved government.
As always at these times, I want to pay tribute to General John de Chastelain and his colleagues in the Independent International Commission on Decommissioning, whose persistence and dedication have been instrumental in bringing us this far. Their commitment to this process has been extraordinary and we all owe them a considerable debt of thanks.
The Prime Minister has called for acts of completion. We in Government stand ready and we are holding the door open, as the order shows. I commend it to the House.
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