TUC: “Ministers must act to prevent unnecessary hardship” after toughest restrictions put in place for West & South Yorkshire

Commenting on the government’s announcement today (Thursday), of Tier 3 restrictions for West/South Yorkshire TUC Regional Secretary Bill Adams said: 

“With the toughest restrictions put in place here in West and South Yorkshire, more pressure is being heaped on already-struggling sectors like hospitality and the arts. Without greater support, businesses will close and jobs will be lost. And support for local government to manage the impact is still much too low.  

“The spending review was a missed opportunity to fix some of these urgent issues. Ministers must act to prevent unnecessary hardship this winter by providing targeted packages for hard-hit industries, boosting sick pay to a Real Living Wage so that people can afford to self-isolate and increasing Universal Credit.” 

More support needed for economy to get through winter 

New TUC research shows that the youth unemployment rate now stands at 12.4%, compared with 4.7% for workers as a whole across Yorkshire. 

The latest ONS data also shows that there has been a 23.5% jump in unemployment over the summer, equivalent to 24,000 more people in the region unemployed. Economic growth in Yorkshire fell by 3.6% in the first quarter of 2020 (Jan-Mar), and the education (-17%), hospitality (-9%) and retail (-8%) sectors all experienced significant negative growth 

Data from the Real Living Wage foundation also showed that 493,000 workers (23%) in Yorkshire & the Humber are earning under the Real Living Wage (RLW). 

The TUC criticised the government’s levelling up initiatives announced Wednesday (yesterday), as a plan to level down, with genuine devolution of money to local communities substituted for funding pots to the favoured few.  

ENDS