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Employment Bill [HL]

We do not support the amendment of the noble Lord, Lord Rosser, moved by the noble Baroness, Lady Turner, and I hope the Minister will join me in not doing so. The amendment would extend the application of the national minimum wage dramatically and entirely inappropriately. Proposed new paragraph (a) would extend its application to all sailors employed on a UK-registered ship. Such a measure is the equivalent of insisting that every UK company with a factory or office abroad must employ local workers at above the minimum wage regardless of the differences in local wage rates or costs of living. Perhaps I may ask the noble Baroness why the noble Lord, Lord Rosser, has decided that only UK shipping cannot take advantage of the widely differing labour costs around the world. It cannot be the close proximity of workers on different wages. There are many corporate offices where expatriates are paid on a different scale to those hired locally despite doing jobs of a similar nature or status. Does he then intend to table amendments on Report including, for example, UK manufacturing firms as well?