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British workers have had it too soft for too long, the Chancellor warned in a forthright speech to the TUC today. He deplored what he called "the culture of rights without responsibilities" which he said had made the British worker one of the least competitive in Europe.
Despite working longer hours for lower wages and fewer benefits than almost any other nation, the British people had not yet learned that asking for extra benefits wastes valuable company time, the Chancellor said.
The time was fast approaching, he said, when Britain would have to compete directly with the so-called "sweat-shop economies" of south-east Asia, Latin America and California. As such, the country would not be able to afford to pay uncompetitive wages or permit workers to claim unrealistic perks such as breaks, expenses or pension plans, the Chancellor said.
The speech comes as the Netrail North-South industrial dispute enters its fifth week, with train drivers protesting at the outsourcing of their jobs. The drivers claim that customer safety will be endangered by the company's use of satellite-linked remote control operators in the Punjab. Netrail says that the railways will not be made significantly more dangerous than they already are.
The Government has repeatedly criticised Netrail for failing to solve the dispute or to take any action other than locking the drivers out. Netrail claims that the dispute is now a public order problem, and has called on the Government either to send in troops or armed police, or to pay Netrail executives to take courses in marksmanship and survival techniques.
Trade union leaders responded to the Chancellor with qualified enthusiasm. Although he did not receive a standing ovation, the atmosphere in the Millennium Dome conference hall improved markedly when he confirmed that union leaders would soon be able to claim tax rebates if they invested in the companies whose human resources they were advantagising.
British workers have had it too soft for too long, the Chancellor warned in a forthright speech to the TUC today. He deplored what he called "the culture of rights without responsibilities" which he said had made the British worker one of the least competitive in Europe.
Despite working longer hours for lower wages and fewer benefits than almost any other nation, the British people had not yet learned that asking for extra benefits wastes valuable company time, the Chancellor said.
The time was fast approaching, he said, when Britain would have to compete directly with the so-called "sweat-shop economies" of south-east Asia, Latin America and California. As such, the country would not be able to afford to pay uncompetitive wages or permit workers to claim unrealistic perks such as breaks, expenses or pension plans, the Chancellor said.
The speech comes as the Netrail North-South industrial dispute enters its fifth week, with train drivers protesting at the outsourcing of their jobs. The drivers claim that customer safety will be endangered by the company's use of satellite-linked remote control operators in the Punjab. Netrail says that the railways will not be made significantly more dangerous than they already are.
The Government has repeatedly criticised Netrail for failing to solve the dispute or to take any action other than locking the drivers out. Netrail claims that the dispute is now a public order problem, and has called on the Government either to send in troops or armed police, or to pay Netrail executives to take courses in marksmanship and survival techniques.
Trade union leaders responded to the Chancellor with qualified enthusiasm. Although he did not receive a standing ovation, the atmosphere in the Millennium Dome conference hall improved markedly when he confirmed that union leaders would soon be able to claim tax rebates if they invested in the companies whose human resources they were advantagising.
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