Clause 43 - Union learning representatives
Employment Bill
10:00 am
Mr Philip Hammond (Runnymede and Weybridge, Conservative)
The hon. Gentleman makes the point that education and training, in general, are a public as well as a private good. It is for the good of society that people are educated as far as is practical. I do not disagree, but that takes us back to the debate about who should foot the bill for things that are a general, rather than a specific, good?
The briefing from the Department of Trade and Industry and the explanatory notes to the Bill say that the Government's support for the clause is based on the claim that it will be good for employers. That implies that employers should be happy about it, because it will be positive for them. The regulatory impact assessment suggests that employers will achieve a monetary benefit that exceeds the monetary cost. If the Government want to take that line, they must acknowledge that the training that union learning reps will encourage must be focused on improving the skills of employees for the business in which they are engaged.