29th June 2011
All the latest stories from the world of work
The IPA are pleased to announce that John Monks, former general secretary of the ETUC and TUC has been appointed as IPA President.
In his inaugural speech Lord Monks reflected on the development of partnership over the last thirty years, and the challenges posed by the financial crisis and changing economy. He said; “I see the role of the IPA as being at the heart of the debate about a replacement for our current failed model, working for raised standards at work, standards of respect, of performance, of productivity, of skills. Our job is to help those managers and owners engaged in building competitive businesses for the long term, not just the next quarter, and to support unions who want both a fair share for workers, and also to ensure that they work to the best standards of skill and culture with the best equipment, in a workplace culture of engagement and respect.”
Lord Monks takes over from Sir Bill Conner, who has held the post for 4 years.
75 per cent of organisations experienced difficulties recruiting the right person for the right job in 2011 as skilled people stay in their current jobs. Just over half of employers believe that competition for talent is greater than before.
Although the unemployment level in June stood at 7.7 per cent, leading to high numbers of applications per job, research conducted by the CIPD and Hays suggested that a lack of necessary specialist or technical skills led to recruitment problems for employers. 73 per cent of employers reported an increase in unsuitable applications.
Further research showed that the skills gap could be largely explained by people staying put in their current jobs while the economy and labour market remain fragile. The median turnover rate in 2011 remained low at 12.5 per cent and the rate for voluntary leavers declined in the public and third sector, although it rose slightly in the private sector.
The business secretary, Vince Cable, this month launched a consultation on “excessive and unjustified” executive pay in the private sector.
Cable criticised pay in the UK’s leading businesses where FTSE 100 chief executives’ pay is 120 times the salary of the average employee. Leaders’ pay has risen rapidly in recent years; in 1998 chief executives earned 45 times the salary of the average employee. However, the performance of companies over the period, and the return to shareholders, has been relatively modest.
“There is a failure here both on the part of companies and major shareholders to ensure accountability,” said Cable. “Ridiculous levels of remuneration are going unchallenged as the norm, when there is no clear evidence of a correlation with performance.”
Cable also expressed dismay that median pay for the FTSE 100 chief executives had risen 32 per cent in the last year alone.
Echoing the recommendations of the Hutton review of pay in the public sector, Cable called for greater transparency. However, he acknowledged that transparency would not be enough, and could encourage a race to the top. He said the review would look at other interventions to restore the link between performance and pay.
The business secretary also criticised remuneration committees is failing to rein in pay, and the role of major shareholders in holding remuneration committees to account.
