‘Recession is an excuse for cuts,’ say workers
Jul 20 2009
Businesses should explain their reasons for making cuts, as nearly half of employees believe the recession is being made by employers as an excuse to save money, says the Keep Britain working campaign.
According to a survey by the organisation, 48 per cent thought that their employers were actively exploiting the situation by imposing unnecessary pay cuts, reduced hours and redundancies.
James Reed, founder of the Keep Britain Working campaign, says: ‘With 95 per cent of workers willing to make sacrifices to help preserve jobs, the challenge for bosses is to explain the hard choices that their organisations face, and work together with staff to explore innovative solutions.
‘As pessimism about job prospects begins to lift, it is these organisations that will retain productive staff and attract skilled workers who feel exploited elsewhere.’
Of the 2,900 surveyed, 52 per cent of workers said they felt positive about their employers’ response to the recession, with 23 per cent believing that their employer is doing everything they can to support their staff through the recession.
Last week the Office for National Statistics revealed that unemployment had reached the highest level in 14 years at 2.38 million.
Comment by Matthew Pearson
Tuesday 21st July 2009I think the loss of perceived job security is a positive, as there really isn't such a thing as a safe job. This lack of security drives the rate of small business start-ups, which is fantastic for the economy and for individual business owners taking charge of their financial situation without relying on others to create jobs. I believe in the importance of this shift and secretly hope more businesses use the recession to cut staff! Matthew Pearson RiotPlan
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