CBI rallies behind Plan A but calls for pro-growth agenda…
NEW Confederation of British Industry president Sir Roger Carr praised the “rigour and transparency” of chancellor George Osborne’s deficit reduction plans yesterday, yet warned that the government must do more to boost growth.
The Centrica chairman urged the coalition to cut personal taxes and avoid any repeat of the “counter-productive” hike in North Sea oil taxes, announced in April.
In a global economy, governments are “in a beauty parade” to attract investment and talent, CBI director-general John Cridland added. The government must “ensure the phrase ‘open for business’ is a reality, not an aspiration,” he said.
The City also received a ringing endorsement, at the launch of the CBI’s one-year-on verdict of the coalition. “Financial services remain one of our world class industries, and need to be treated as such,” Cridland said.
Strikes that cause mass disturbance to the public must be combated by fresh legislation, the CBI argued.
The business group is calling for unions to require a mandate from 40 per cent of workers eligible to vote in a strike ballot, before being able to take industrial action.