Early day motion tabled by primary sponsor John Heppell (Labour), on Tuesday, 15 July 2008, in the House of Commons. It is signed by 76 members in total.

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PRIVATE EQUITY

That this House commends GMB, Unite and Unison for joining forces with other unions globally on 17th July, to shine a light on the practices of private equity companies, including recent research which shows that one private equity firm alone, KKR, is responsible for 10,000 job losses in Europe in seven years; is concerned that buyout firms cost the Government millions of pounds in lost revenue, such as with the recent takeover of Boots where that company's tax contribution to the UK dropped from ??130 million to nil in one year; notes that one in 10 private sector workers in the UK are employed by private equity companies, including those in household names such as Alliance Boots, Bird's Eye and Toys r Us; further notes private equity share transfers can avoid the Transfer of Undertakings of Employment regulations, with the workers concerned being kept in the dark as to future owners' intentions and not enjoying the normal protection on a transfer of employment; welcomes moves by these unions to assess whether private equity presents a sound and ethical base for pensions investment; and calls upon the Government to close the loopholes governing private equity regulation.

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Secondary information

Type

Early day motion

Reference

2046 

Session

2007-08

Other sponsors

George Howarth

Tony Lloyd

Kevin Barron

Ian Stewart

Jim Sheridan

Subjects

Employment Financial services

Link

View this Early day motion on www.parliament.uk