CBI calls for more childcare rights for 
low paid

The CBI said the squeeze on household budgets over the past few years “cannot go on” for ever as it unveiled a series of plans for a Better Off Britain.

Director General John Cridland conceded that many of the recommendations could have come from trade unions, but business wanted economic growth to work for everyone.

Speaking ahead of the CBI’s annual conference in London today, he said: “I want to see more low-paid workers getting the benefit of tax reductions to help with their pay packets.”

The Government could offer immediate help by raising the threshold of when people pay employee National Insurance to £10,500, which would increase take-home pay by £363 a year, and expand free childcare to one and two-year-olds, he said.

“The financial crisis and the slow recovery have hit people’s finances hard. Living standards will gradually improve as the economy does, but growth on its own will not be the miracle cure. Even before the recession, the income of a child’s parents determined too many of their own life chances.

“The UK needs to face up to some real long-term challenges. Changing skills needs, greater global competition and low social mobility mean for many the pathway to a better life is tough and far from clear.

“But the answers do not lie in short-term sticking plaster fixes, like intervening in pay or attacking the UK’s flexible labour market, which will ultimately cost jobs. Instead, we need to invest in productivity, skills and education to make the best of Britain’s talents.”