Birdflu law to hit jobs, employers warn

Employers are warning that a new law proposed to cope with a bird flu pandemic would force them to resort to lock-outs or redundancies if unable to pay staff.

The Employers & Manufacturers Association (Northern) said it told the Government and administration select committee on Tuesday that business needed more moderate ways to deal with a pandemic.

Association employment services manager David Lowe said that, in designing the new law, the Government had thought only of itself with all sorts of new powers and exemptions.

But businesses needed some of the red tape cleared away as well so they could respond reasonably to an epidemic.

The association supported the concept of the special legislation, but the laws needed to include the whole community.