Lord Hughes of Woodside
Main Page: Lord Hughes of Woodside (Labour - Life peer)
Lord Marland
I am afraid that I am not much for making a commentary on share prices; my record is not outstanding in that regard. I wonder whether Mr King’s competition is with Waitrose, where of course there is broad employee ownership and, I understand, a very good spirit of co-operation.
Lord Hughes of Woodside
Does the Minister not agree that there is nothing incompatible in a good company recognising workers’ rights? Why is he suggesting that it would be better to have shares and not to have employment rights?
Lord Marland
No one is suggesting for one moment that we do not recognise employee rights. It would be outrageous not to do that. We have no intention of doing that. We are putting forward a very sensible and well thought-out scheme, which recognises employee rights but also recognises that if you want to be a shareholder in endeavour or to create value for yourself in a small, emerging company then you have to take the same road as the people who are employing you. This is a fantastic opportunity for employees to share in this enterprise and it is a terrific scheme.