349,500 furloughed workers in the North East face cliff edge if Government ‘throw away’ good work of job retention scheme

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• Union body launches new blueprint for saving livelihoods and upskilling workers
• New measures needed to prevent thousands of North East families from losing their livelihoods, says TUC
• Ongoing support would come with ‘strings attached’

The union body says that without additional support for businesses and workers millions will lose their livelihoods in the coming months ahead.

Jobs Protection and Upskilling Deal

The TUC is today launching its Job Protection and Upskilling Deal – a new blueprint for saving jobs and upskilling workers affected by the crisis.

The plan outlines a new short-time working scheme designed to prevent mass unemployment and to help firms bounce back after the crisis, and proposals to help workers whose jobs are at risk develop the skills they need for the future.

The plan would:

• Help businesses save jobs by providing ongoing financial support for companies with a viable future 
• Fund reskilling for the jobs of the future, free for any worker whose employer needs them to work for less than 50% of their normal hours 

Under the TUC proposed scheme workers would receive 80% of their salary for the hours they are not in work, including when they are training. 

The company would receive a 70% subsidy from the government, provided they bring back every worker on the scheme for a minimum proportion of their normal working hours.   

Targeted and conditional support

The TUC says the measures outlined in its Job Protection and Upskilling Deal would offer more ‘targeted’ and ‘flexible’ support than the government’s job retention bonus.

Under the TUC’s plan companies would only get help if:

• They can demonstrate they have been hit by coronavirus restrictions
• Each worker is brought back for at least a minimum proportion of their normal working hours
• They pay their fair share of tax in the UK, boost workers’ rights and pay staff fairly, and do not pay dividends while using the scheme.

The plan would also have built-in contingencies for companies hit by local lockdowns. Companies in this situation would automatically qualify for help through the scheme.

The TUC says the plan mirrors measures being taken across Europe

In Austria, unions and employers have extended their coronavirus short-time work scheme for another six months from October. While in Germany, the country’s coronavirus short-time work scheme is expected to be extended until December 2021. And in France a new short-time work scheme has been introduced that will apply until June 2022.  

‘Clock ticking’

The TUC says the ‘clock is ticking’ to avoid a ‘tsunami of unemployment’ in the autumn, with the Bank of England predicting that 2.5 million people could be out of work by the end of the year.

The union body says that rather than watching from the side-lines ministers must take action now to prevent the misery of mass unemployment.