Worker Entitlement In Tatters
Newcastle Herald
Tuesday February 1, 2000
CREDITORS have been promised that the directors of National Textiles will be thoroughly checked out in a bid to determine if they have any liability in the wake of thecollapse of the company.
It's an emotive issue. Everyone is looking for someone to blame.
That's hardy surprisingly considering that, in the fallout, many people will be out of pocket.
At the end of the day the ones most unfairly affected are the workers who will not get all of their entitlements.
The obvious point made at last Friday's National Textiles creditors' meeting was that if assets are liquidated rather than sold off as a going concern, there'll be little money for anyone.
In a volatile business world, the same predicament is faced on one scale or another every day of the week.
The whole sorry mess leaves many unanswered questions.
More than anything, it highlights the urgent need for worker protection.
A taxpayer-funded safety net is not the solution. The burden of responsibility is not one which should be spread across the community.
Company accountability is at the core of the issue.
Unionists are taking that argument to its illogical conclusion and claiming that company directors should be made personally liable for any debt resulting from business failure.
It's an argument blurred by fuzzy logic.
If every time a new business starts up the directors are required to put their personal assets on the line, negative business growth would be the likely outcome.
Few would be prepared to take a risk that brought with it such potentially damaging ramifications.
There would be far fewer businesses; far fewer jobs.
At the other end of that equation, however, the workers should not be the ones expected to shoulder the bulk of that risk.
They contribute the labour component, they have no control over the administration of the business and should not therefore be held financially accountable for trading outcomes.
That is something that must be built into the fabric of the business.
The National Textiles issue has brought a number of issues into sharp focus.
It's not the first time but it must be the last time.
There has been far too much talk and far too little action.
At the bottom of this sorry pyramid is the worker who wants nothing more than a fair day's pay for a fair day's work.
Government and company policy don't interest him. Political gibberish and double-talk confuse him.
He simply wants to pay the mortgage, put food on the table and enjoy a few creature comforts.
He wants nothing more than a fair shake, not the shake-down with which he is so often left.
© 2000 Newcastle Herald