Press Release
Government must tackle the rising tide of job
insecurity amongst the middle classes as economic growth slows
London
: March 18th,
2008. Over the past decade,
UK
workers have reported ever higher feelings of job-insecurity. As the credit crunch begins to bite and in
light of last week's Budget reducing growth forecasts, the Government needs to
take urgent action to address Britain's
endemic insecurity. Otherwise it will be
unable to weather any economic downturn.
In a new report published today, an event with Stephen Timms MP,
the Social Market Foundation, a cross party think tank, argues that workers
should be automatically enrolled in an unemployment insurance scheme. Angloflexicurity: A Safety Net for UK Workers,
calls for the Government to collaborate with the financial sector to devise a
better insurance safety net for vulnerable middle class employees.
The difference between salaries and benefits has grown larger, and rising levels of mortgage debt and loans mean
that people are less able to bear the drop in income that unemployment
brings. Although the labour market has
been strong, the consequences of worklessness have
become much greater - British workers who lose their jobs face a steeper drop
in their income than Europeans and it is much more
likely that their next job will be lower paid.
Unemployment therefore presents a greater threat to both economic
performance and well-being.
Ann Rossiter, Director of the
Social Market Foundation and one of the authors of the report, said today:
"Many people argue that growing
job insecurity is an inevitable consequence of economic flexibility and
globalisation. This report seeks to put
an end to that false trade-off, and presents a form of protection which can
maintain UK
competitiveness in the global market."
David
Lane of Genworth Financial,
sponsors of the report, said:
"Despite putting in the longest working week in Europe, UK
workers are still inadequately protected for when things go
wrong.
"Borrowing the concept of Flexicurity
from the Nordic countries is an innovative way of encouraging them
to address the reality of unemployment".
###
Notes to Editors
- For further
information, advance copies of the report or to arrange interviews contact
Robert Sharp rsharp@smf.co.uk
07790 420011 .
- Anglo-flexicurity: A safety net for UK workers by Stephen Evans, Ann Rossiter,
Kurt Mueller and Verena Menne
is published by the Social Market Foundation. ISBN 1-904899-58-7
- The authors analyse current forms of unemployment
insurance in the UK,
and ask what lessons can be learnt from flexible insurance schemes in
Europe and the United
States.
They also suggest how to increase take-up in insurance schemes, in
part through auto-enrolment.
Finally, they present a model of 'Angloflexicurity',
a version of flexible insurance tailored to the British labour market.
- The publication will be launched
today at a lunchtime event with Stephen Timms
MP. The seminar will run from
12:15pm at the Social Market Foundation's offices at 11 Tufton Street, SW1P 3QB. To attend the event
please call Beth Foley on 020 7227 4418.
- The book is published with the
kind support of Genworth Financial, a leading financial security company
serving the lifestyle protection, retirement income, investment and
mortgage insurance needs of more than 15 million customers throughout 25
countries.
The Social
Market Foundation is a leading UK
think tank, developing innovative ideas across a broad range of economic and
social policy. It champions policy ideas which marry markets with social
justice and takes a pro-market rather than free-market approach.
About Genworth Financial
Genworth is a leading
financial security company meeting the retirement, lifestyle protection,
investment and mortgage insurance needs of more than 15 million customers across
25 countries. In Europe, Genworth partners with banks, brokers, advisers
and other financial institutions to
develop innovative mortgage insurance, payment protection and other products to
suit local markets. For more
information, visit www.genworth.com
Media Contact:
Guy Genney, 0208 380 3786
Guy
Genney@Genworth.com
