WORKERS are showing their bosses that they deserve better pay. Deputy Commerce and Employment minister Carla McNulty Bauer said she had taken a lot of positives from the annual Chamber of Commerce business trends survey, which some have seen as wary and negative over the zero-10 tax changes due next year.

‘This is a very useful temperature gauge of the business community,’ she said.

Deputy McNulty Bauer, who has worked for some of the island’s major exporter businesses, said she was heartened that many companies had exceeded expectations for turnover and profitability in the past year and in many cases had done so without increasing staff.

The survey also showed a wide-ranging commitment to increasing training and investment in staff.

‘Businesses have been able to achieve greater turnover and profitability with fewer staff,’ said the deputy.

‘From the Commerce and Employment point of view, that’s very good news. That means businesses are increasing productivity and getting more from their staff.

‘There is a downside, that concerns about staffing costs have increased. Yes, but those staff have increased productivity and improved turnover and profit, so it is appropriate that they get paid better and get better rewards because of that.’

More than half of the 100-plus companies which responded to the survey enjoyed increased turnover (65%) and profitability (58%) in 2006 on the year before.

Firms expressing confidence for the rest of the year had also grown on last year’s survey from 30 to 45%.

Deputy McNulty Bauer said figures like that did not reflect concerns being raised.

‘Uncertainty was a big issue last year, partly because we hadn’t had the tax debate yet, but a lot of what I see coming out this year is confidence,’ she said.

She added that some of the worries facing local businesses were not Guernsey issues, but global ones.

‘A lot of businesses realise that our future and our future success doesn’t just depend on what’s happening here in the island.’

Deputy McNulty Bauer said she understood concerns about lack of knowledge on zero-10 and her department and Treasury and Resources would act to tackle that soon with targeted training offered to firms.

‘We recognise that there is a big learning gap that we need to fill, especially for small businesses,’ she said.

‘We understand the concerns and the perception that there may be something hidden.

‘That creates anxiety and it’s quite important for us to communicate to show that’s not the case.’