TUC: Government should have acted sooner to protect lives and livelihoods

• Greater support needed to see families safely through winter, says TUC

Responding to today’s (Saturday) announcement of a new lockdown for England, the TUC has called for the Treasury to make improvements to support.

The TUC will also press for a publicly run and accountable test and trace system, decent sick pay and tougher safety standards at work - including a legal duty to publish risk assessments.

TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady said: 

“The government should have acted decisively much sooner and now families face a grim winter.

“The extension of the furlough scheme is long overdue and necessary, but ministers must do more to protect jobs and prevent poverty.

“Furlough pay must never fall below the national minimum wage. We need a boost to Universal Credit and government should not abandon the self-employed. And we will not control the virus unless the government fixes the test and trace system and the scandal of workers asked to self-isolate without decent sick pay.”