WESTMINSTER (Labour Buzz) - 24 hours to save jobs, that’s the stark message from a new campaign launched today by the Labour party as it tries to force Chancellor Rishi Sunak to reverse his cataclysmic decision to scale back the furlough scheme.
Sunak had announced there would be no extension of furlough even for workers in industries particularly affected by the crisis. Instead, he offered the panacea of a ‘bonus’ for all those businesses who waited three months before sacking workers who had been furloughed.
The role back of furlough starts from tomorrow as employers will have to pay NIC and pensions contributions for the hours their workers are on furlough. It is, says Labour’ a historic mistake which will see many people who have obeyed the rules through lockdown rewarded with a P45.
Shadow Chancellor Anneliese Dodds said this would result in a ‘python-like squeeze’ for those businesses which are unable to return to work as normal.
Labour followed up this warning by releasing a report which shows footfall in high street shops is still down by 40% on pre-pandemic levels and 43% of businesses in the hardest-hit sectors report they are still unable to open.
For this reason, Labour has launched what it calls the ‘jobs, jobs, jobs' campaign which offers a number of proposals which the party says will protect the economy and peoples’ livelihoods.
“The government should back viable businesses that are still impacted by Coronavirus, support the self-employed and come up with a plan to drive job creation as we emerge from the pandemic,” said Dodds, “And it must ensure our NHS and care services are fully prepared for a second wave – because we won’t recover from this economic crisis until the government gets a grip on the health crisis.”
(Written by Tom Cropper, Edited by Klaudia Fior)