Friday, December 10, 2021

"Reboot furlough to save jobs in sectors hit by Plan B" says TUC

"The TUC has called for Treasury support to protect jobs, and for the sick pay system to be fixed to reduce spread of Omicron, in response to today’s announcement of ‘plan B’ restrictions.

The union body highlights that when a work from home instruction was last in place in June 2021, nearly two million jobs were protected by furlough, including nearly half of in the jobs in hospitality that were eligible for furlough. [see table below for full data].

TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady said:

“Requiring people to work from home over the busy Christmas period will hit jobs – unless ministers bring back furlough. Cleaners, receptionists, conference and banqueting staff and hospitality and retail workers will be short of work if people don’t come into offices.

“Ministers must reassure workers in hard-hit sectors like hospitality, leisure and travel that their livelihoods are secure.

“Furlough was the great success in the first response to the pandemic. The rise of the Omicron variant shows why the UK needs a permanent short-time working scheme – ready to go when a new crisis hits.

“If we’re serious about stopping Omicron, ministers must fix our broken sick pay system, so every worker gets a decent amount to live off if they are sick or have to self-isolate. That’s how we make sure people can follow the rules and stop the spread.”

https://www.tuc.org.uk/news/reboot-furlough-save-jobs-sectors-hit-plan-b

rs hit by Plan B

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