01/06/2009 - Help for Scottish businesses urged
Small businesses that have been hit hardest by the recession should receive help from the Scottish Government to top up workers` wages, firms and union leaders have said.
If Scotland is to take advantage when the economy recovers, then a training support scheme for "viable businesses" is also needed, they added.
The measures are similar to those already introduced in Wales, and the Federation of Small Businesses in Scotland (FSB) and the STUC (Scottish Trades Union Congress) wants to see them adopted in Scotland.
"The Scottish Government should be at the forefront of innovative methods to help small businesses weather this storm and capitalise on the upturn when it comes," said Andy Willox, Scottish policy convener at the FSB.
"When people become out of work, their skills and their experiences are lost to the economy at large."
He called for "every tool at the Scottish Government's disposal" to be used to ensure that Scotland's communities "do not lose another generation to the spectre of unemployment".
Small businesses which have introduced short-time working and are considering redundancies would be targeted by the temporary support package.
Copyright © Press Association 2009
Related links
|
