Tax change 'will boost bogus self-employment'

Delegates deplored the government's decision to end the concession to the benefits scheme from 2012, after which National Insurance contributions will have to be paid by workers and employers at the full rate.

Scotland delegate Joe Farrell said that the government should be funding improvements in the B&CE scheme, for example by providing benefits to sufferers of RSI or carpal tunnel syndrome.

North West region delegate Terry Renshaw warned that "the government is removing a concession without thinking through the consequences, just like with the 10p tax rate."

General secretary Alan Ritchie pledged that he would campaign for a reversal of the decision and that he would continue the wider campaign for a proper pension scheme for construction workers.