{"id":21688,"date":"2020-05-26T15:27:27","date_gmt":"2020-05-26T14:27:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/unitelive.org\/?p=21688"},"modified":"2020-05-26T15:27:27","modified_gmt":"2020-05-26T14:27:27","slug":"jobs-tsunami-this-summer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/?p=21688","title":{"rendered":"Jobs tsunami this summer?"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>\n

Responding to speculation that the chancellor Rishi Sunak will soon use a statement to detail changes to the job retention scheme (JRS), Unite has urged the government to proceed with maximum care to avert a tsunami of lay-offs this summer.<\/p>\n

Among the mooted changes, expected to be rolled out from August 1, is that\u00c2\u00a0employers will be\u00c2\u00a0responsible for a contribution of up to 25 per cent of the scheme\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s guaranteed pay. Unite is concerned that this could trigger some employers to simply sack\u00c2\u00a0workers, which is why the union is calling for flexible working patterns and a jobs creation programme\u00c2\u00a0to be introduced alongside furlough\u00c2\u00a0changes.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bChanges to the\u00c2\u00a0furlough scheme must be managed in such a way so as not to cause panic among employers and workers, said Steve Turner, Unite assistant general secretary for manufacturing, on May 23.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bFor some a loosening of lockdown could see a return to near normal, with workers returning full time.\u00c2\u00a0 For many others though, that will not be the case and on-going support will be needed.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

Turner said that alongside continued financial support there will also need to be\u00c2\u00a0short-time working, job sharing and a regular rotation of the workforce to support\u00c2\u00a0social distancing and share the workload until demand is re-established and hours can be increased for all.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bWe have argued for such flexibilities in the job retention scheme (JRS) since its introduction.\u00c2\u00a0 We can guarantee that they\u00c2\u00a0will be\u00c2\u00a0welcomed by industry and workers alike so\u00c2\u00a0should be introduced without any delay.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bBut,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he continued, \u00e2\u20ac\u015bOur main fear is that\u00c2\u00a0introducing an employer contribution to the JRS before the economy has re-opened and confidence has been restored will lead to a tsunami of job losses over the coming weeks.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0098Few choices\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bWhile the worst employers will opportunistically sack workers and attack terms and conditions of employment, for the vast majority of good employers, where demand has crashed and cash flow is a serious and on-going concern, such a change now will leave them with few choices.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bIn discussions with Treasury officials we are examining a variety of alternatives open to the chancellor,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 Turner explained, \u00e2\u20ac\u015bincluding lowering the monthly cap (currently \u00c2\u01412,500 a month) and directing the money to needy workers\u00c2\u00a0as an alternative to the introduction of an employer contribution.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

Unite firmly believes that the best way for the chancellor to address his concerns is to get the economy open and safely operating at every level, putting millions currently furloughed back to work.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bUnite is calling for a National Council for Recovery, a national alliance of political and industrial leaders to develop, plan and deliver proposals to support the nation’s recovery and renewal in the immediate and longer-term,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he continued.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThere is a consensus across business and the trades unions that we can build our way through this to avert the worst of outcomes \u00e2\u20ac\u201c but \u00e2\u20ac\u201c we really need government to be a full partner in this process.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

By UNITElive team\u00c2\u00a0<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Responding to speculation that the chancellor Rishi Sunak will soon use a statement to detail changes to the job retention scheme (JRS), Unite has urged the government to proceed with maximum\u00c2\u00a0care to\u00c2\u00a0avert\u00c2\u00a0a tsunami of lay-offs this summer.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":11206,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1308,1],"tags":[1295,1330,55,1309],"wps_subtitle":"Unite warns\u00c2\u00a0furlough changes could lead to lay-offs","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21688"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=21688"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21688\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21690,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21688\/revisions\/21690"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/11206"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=21688"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=21688"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=21688"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}