By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown hosted a summit of leading employers and labor unions Monday aimed at discussing plans to create new jobs and boost skills, amid warnings the financial crisis will result in serious job losses in the UK over the next 12 months.
Brown's office said the leader planned talks with representatives from retail, manufacturing and other industries at a meeting at London's Science Museum.
Labor unions planned to call on the government to create new jobs through public works projects, which Brown said would be funded by his previously announced 20 billion pound (US$30 billion) economic stimulus plan for the country's economy.
Britain's Chambers of Commerce organization has warned that UK businesses will likely lose large numbers of employees as they cope with the impact of the recession.
"It is clear that the speed and scale of the decline in the UK economy will result in a very significant increase in unemployment in 2009," said David Frost, director of the Chambers of Commerce.
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