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The Rt. Hon. Patricia HewittProshare Awards Speech |
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CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY SPEECH BY PATRICIA HEWITT, SECRETARY OF STATE FOR TRADE AND INDUSTRY: THE 9TH ANNUAL PROSHARE AWARDS DINNER, 4TH DECEMBER 2001 First of all, I'd like to begin by thanking Geoffrey (Maddrell) for inviting me here tonight and for giving me the honour of presenting the 9th annual Proshare awards. I'd also like to pass on my congratulations to everyone involved in organising the event - it's nice to see so many people here, including a great deal of familiar faces. I'm sure everyone here is aware that winning a Proshare Award for employee share ownership, and services to the private investor, has become a highly prestigious commendation. It's an honour to give them out let alone win one! The awards recognise those companies that have made imaginative, outstanding and unique contributions to share ownership, and companies which win them, are seen as leaders in this field. Employee share ownership is at the heart of the government's productivity and enterprise agenda and Proshare are a major contributor to this cause. None of us should underestimate the role of employee share ownership in driving up productivity. I'm a believer that if people know why they are doing things, they will do things better, if they are told the result of their actions that is better still, but ideally, the optimal results are realized when people have a stake in the outcome as well - and that's employee ownership in a nutshell. Share ownership helps people who work in a company feel as if they own part of that business. They have a stake in it, they have a voice, and they are more likely to be happier, more productive individuals as a result. We must also remember that there is a crucial need to combine employee share ownership with greater employee involvement and participation in the business. The combination of worker ownership and participation is vital to increasing a company's productivity and competitiveness - and I've no doubt that the winners of tonight's awards will be shining examples of businesses achieving just that. I might just quickly take this opportunity to get in a quick plug for my own department if you don't mind! As some of you will probably know, my department has just undergone a wide-ranging review of both its internal structure, and of the business support schemes we offer. One of the over-riding themes that came out of the reviews was that we needed to be more focused and to have clearer roles and objectives when delivering for business. As a result, we will now strive to ensure that everything the department does is geared to driving up sustainable UK productivity and competitiveness by working with businesses, employees and consumers. The reforms bought about by the review will also help both officials and other stakeholders feel more engaged - a greater part of what the DTI is - and more involved generally in what it does. Plug over! As I have said, employee share ownership schemes have an important role in helping to drive up productivity as well as helping to create a more 'inclusive' culture in the workplace. It is fair to say then, that Proshare are, and will continue to be, a key player in helping us strengthen UK productivity and competitiveness in the future. There is little doubt that since its conception in 1992, Proshare has had a substantial positive impact on investment patterns in the UK. Its stated mission of promoting responsible share-based investment for employees and others is an admirable one, and one which deserves all of our support. Support which this Government for one is more than happy to give. Proshare and the Government have worked together on many initiatives to promote employee share schemes and widen share ownership. As Economic Secretary in 1998, I was closely involved in the early development of the Share Incentive Plan, which was introduced on 29th October. My mission back then was to try and maximise the number of companies that offered Employee Share Schemes. It is now estimated that around 5,000 companies in the UK operate Employee Share Schemes with around 3.5 million employees participating. Although this is a significant number, we must not be complacent. We all have a duty to make sure that the work goes on to increase the number of participants further still. Proshare was also instrumental in bringing together the Employee Share Alliance - an organisation that many of you here tonight will be closely involved with. The Employee Share Alliance plays a crucial role in promoting the message that companies which foster constructive partnerships between employers and employees have a far better chance of long term success. Employee commitment is a vital component to a company's strength and workers with a financial stake in their company are more likely to be committed to its long-term future. Employee share ownership is also a useful mechanism in attracting and retaining talented members of staff - two undeniably attractive results of implementing an Employee Share Scheme. As well as being Secretary of State for Trade & Industry, I am also Minister for Women and I am particularly interested in how we encourage more women to own shares - be they in the company they work for or not. Tomorrow, I will be announcing measures to help reduce the pay gap between men and women - but we must also make sure that there isn't a similar 'profit gap' between the sexes. The percentage of women owning shares is growing faster than that of men but still only 22% of women own shares -compared to 28% of men. With the help of organisations such as Proshare, this situation is improving but we still need to do more to ensure that women do not miss out on the benefits of share ownership. Schemes which involve the widest range of workers possible are the ones that realise the largest benefits. It is the optimal way to promote fairness, and to enable the whole of the workforce to benefit in the success of the company. In short, it is clear to me that there can be no better incentive and motivation for employees than for their work to be recognised and for them to share in the firm's success. Right, I'm sure that you are all eager to get on with the main business of the night - the prize giving bit! But just before I do, I'd like to quickly just say a few words about the awards themselves. I think it's fair to say that award nights like this go a long way in helping encourage companies to succeed and grow, and to share their success with their most important of assets - their employees. This is why I was so keen to attend tonight. There have been a great number of firms who have excelled in their business over the last 12 months and there will undoubtedly be many worthy winners this evening. Winning a Proshare Award would be an excellent achievement to all companies, large and small - every one of us likes to be recognised for the success that we have achieved - none more so than politicians in actual fact! But before I pass you over to Diane (Hay) to introduce the Awards, I'd like to finish by saying how genuinely pleased I am to be here this evening so that I can add my congratulations and support not only to those companies that have won Awards, but also to all those who have entered. I look forward to welcoming the lucky ones amongst you on stage to pick up your awards but to all of you, I hope that you enjoy the rest of the evening and wish you all best of luck for the future. |
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Other speeches by The Rt. Hon. Patricia Hewitt
(the following are available from the archive) |
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