Employment Bill — amendment to the second reading motion — 27 Nov 2001 at 21:42

Motion tabled by the Conservative Party as an amendment to the motion that the Bill be gievn a Second Reading.

I beg to move, To leave out from "That" to the end of the Question, and to add instead thereof:

"this House regrets that a wider debate has not taken place on how the benefits and burdens arising from the Employment Bill are shared between individuals and the workplace; declines to give a Second Reading to the Bill because, although it contains welcome measures which promote family friendly practices in the workplace and which seek to improve dispute resolution procedures, it depends excessively on secondary legislation which is likely to impose significant extra burdens on business, especially small businesses; and because it will impose extra costs on business, further damaging British competitiveness at a time when manufacturing industry is already in a fourth successive quarter of recession."

Question put, That the amendment be made:-

The House divided: Ayes 134, Noes 311.

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