Collective pay bargaining in the NHS should go as part of an employment and planning law overhaul designed to kickstart the economy, business leaders have told the government.
The Institute of Directors is concerned that the government is not doing enough, quickly enough, to improve the supply-side of the economy and has produced a paper containing 24 suggestions it believes would help the economy grow at little or no cost to the taxpayer.
The suggestions include overhauling some employment laws to make them more friendly towards businesses and that collective pay bargaining in the NHS and education sector should be ended to boost productivity.
The IoD paper also calls for the abolition of the right to request flexible working and the right to request time off for training, which it claims creates too much red tape for firms.
The government was recently criticised by Sir Richard Lambert, the outgoing boss of business body the CBI, for making cutbacks but not setting out its vision to promote growth, as the economy contracted by 0.5% in the final quarter of 2010.
Miles Templeman, director-general of the IoD, said: “The government’s deficit reduction strategy is central to improving growth prospects and the overall business environment, but the government also needs to reform the supply-side of the economy to boost the private sector.
“Many of the measures we have proposed today are long overdue and would improve the UK’s infrastructure and the functioning of its labour market. We urge ministers to seize this opportunity.”
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