Brian McBride, an NI Conservatives’ representative in North Down, has accused Steven Agnew of being “completely oblivious” to the difficulties of small businesses, after the Green Party Assembly member tabled a motion calling for companies to pay the so-called ‘living wage’ to employees, as a requirement for being awarded government contracts.
“Once again Agnew has shown that he does not understand or have any sympathy with the problems which small businesses, many of them in his own constituency, face to make ends meet”, Brian said. “First he demanded that companies should be forced to drop flexible contracts for employees and now he wants an arbitrary ‘living wage’ enforced, as a precondition of firms being awarded government contracts.”
“Not only is it the wrong time to introduce such a rule, while we’re trying to encourage a recovery in the economy, it would also cost jobs and put many local companies out of the running for much needed work.”
“David Cameron’s government has already set about improving the lot of working people on several fronts. Firstly, the new Universal Credit will ensure that work pays and that benefits are not stopped whenever people find a job, secondly, 66,000 people in Northern Ireland alone have been lifted out of tax altogether and thirdly, the government has just raised the minimum wage, yet again, to £6.35 per hour.”
“These are all far more effective ways of tackling poverty than hammering businesses with an arbitrary ‘living wage’ requirement. In fact the Adam Smith Institute has found that easing the tax burden on low earners, by raising the tax threshold, as the government is doing, is by far the best way to raise disposable incomes for workers, without causing jobs to be lost.”
“Steven Agnew and the Green Party should stop trying to hammer hard pressed business owners and start supporting local companies. Currently, the results of the policies that he wants to implement would be that firms close, jobs would be lost and the recovery would be stalled. The people of Northern Ireland, and the people of North Down in particular, deserve better economics from their representatives and local businesses deserve some support, rather than suspicion and kicks in the teeth.”