HC Deb 11 December 1990 vol 182 cc800-1
2. Mr. Jack Thompson

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he plans to hold discussions with the Trades Union Congress about current unemployment trends.

The Secretary of State for Employment (Mr. Michael Howard)

I have discussed various matters with the TUC on a number of occasions, including at the National Economic Development Council.

Mr. Thompson

In view of the new consensus thinking in the Government, will the right hon. and learned Gentleman consider encouraging the Prime Minister to advocate urgent talks with the TUC because of the potential increase in unemployment and the problems that we have had in the past 11 years with unemployment?

Mr. Howard

There is no evidence that the TUC has an agreed policy on the matter. It certainly did not make plain any such agreed policy at the recent meeting of the NEDC to which I referred. If anyone has any specific proposals to put forward in relation to unemployment, I shall be happy to consider them.

Mr. Ian Bruce

Has my right hon. and learned Friend had a chance to discuss with the TUC the social charter and how that might affect unemployment in the United Kingdom, particularly the high rate of tax that would have to be put on employees to pay for the type of social benefits that are available in Germany—at great cost to the people concerned and the companies which employ them?

Mr. Howard

I have held discussions with representatives of the TUC on the European Commission's social action programme. I am afraid that the representatives who attended the meeting seemed oblivious of the extra costs—in excess of £3 billion a year—which would be a consequence of only the part-time and working-time directives that are being put forward by the Commission, and of the loss of jobs that those directives would undoubtedly cause.

Mr. Leighton

Unemployment has risen for seven consecutive months and after 11 years of Conservative rule the country is being forced into deep recession. Does the right hon. and learned Gentleman agree that that is conclusive evidence of the failure of Conservative policy? Is he aware that instead of our entry to the exchange rate mechanism being a solution to it all, it is likely to inflict an extra 1 million unemployed on this country?

Mr. Howard

No. The hon. Gentleman, who chairs the Select Committee on Employment, knows very well that we have 2 million more jobs in this country now than we did in 1979, unemployment is 45 per cent. lower than it was in 1986 and we have one of the lowest rates of unemployment in the European Community. Those matters are worthy more of congratulation than of the criticism that characterised the hon. Gentleman's question.

Mr. Andrew Mitchell

Will my right hon. and learned Friend make it absolutely clear in any discussions that he may hold with the Trades Union Congress that, now that we are members of the exchange rate mechanism, excessive wage increases are the fastest possible way to increase unemployment?

Mr. Howard

The exchange rate mechanism makes it absolutely clear that employers must keep all costs rigorously under control and their labour costs are an impor-tant component. Therefore, it is extremely important that all who are concerned in wage negotiations should think carefully about the consequences of their actions and think to the future, not simply to what might happen in the short term.

Mr. Tony Lloyd

If the Secretary of State's protestations about all that the Government have done are right, yet the unemployment rate goes up on Thursday, as most hon. Members believe it will, will he say that he is still intent on making £365 million worth of cuts in employment training and training for the long-term unemployed in the next financial year? Will he, instead, ensure that more money goes towards training for the long-term unemployed?

Mr. Howard

I have said that unemployment is likely to continue to go up over the next few months. I have also said that we have been reviewing the best way of helping the unemployed back into jobs, which is not always through employment training. We can offer a great deal of help in other ways, which is why we propose to make up to an additional 100,000 places available in job clubs and through the job interview guarantee scheme to help people back into work as soon as possible.