Johnny Andrews 24 September . Out of kilter employment laws could cost aquarium jobs - NI Conservative Tuesday, 24 September, 2013 NI Conservatives’ economy spokesman, Johnny Andrews, has claimed that Northern Ireland’s employment law, which is out of kilter with the rest of the UK, could be behind the likely closure of the Exploris Aquarium, in Portaferry. “In Northern Ireland we have not kept up with changes in employment law at Westminster, which is bad for investment and may, in this case, cost almost 20 jobs at Exploris”, Johnny explained. “The private company which was interested in buying the aquarium has apparently been put off, because it can’t afford to implement a similar pension scheme to the one Ards Borough Council has been operating.” “In Northern Ireland the TUPE regulations, which govern what happens to employees when a new owner takes over a business, are more complicated and more extensive than in Great Britain. Our failure to reform that legislation has contributed to this situation, where a private company has felt unable to complete the purchase of Exploris.” “That is lamentable for the Ards Borough, which could lose one of its premier attractions, it is lamentable for experts in marine life, who could lose a valuable scientific facility, but most of all it is lamentable for the employees, who could be out of a job. The executive must act quickly to harmonise employment law with the rest of the UK and make sure that no more jobs are lost because of our old-fashioned, unwieldy legislation.”
Posted on: Thu, 26 Sep 2013 16:56:52 +0000
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