{"id":21728,"date":"2020-05-28T11:16:29","date_gmt":"2020-05-28T10:16:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/unitelive.org\/?p=21728"},"modified":"2020-05-28T12:54:31","modified_gmt":"2020-05-28T11:54:31","slug":"millions-hanging-by-a-thread","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/?p=21728","title":{"rendered":"‘Millions hanging by a thread’"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Protecting one man\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s job is preoccupying\u00c2\u00a0government\u00c2\u00a0at the moment, but here at Unite we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re much more concerned by the millions of others hanging by a thread.\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n

At a time when the government should be setting out the next phase of the urgently-needed programme to prevent mass unemployment, much of the cabinet is bogged down\u00c2\u00a0in the defence of the indefensible.<\/p>\n

\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n

My appeal to Rishi Sunak is to cut loose from this irresponsible use of government efforts\u00c2\u00a0because there is no more time to lose in averting a jobs loss tsunami this summer.<\/p>\n

\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Job Retention Scheme (JRS) was a major victory for trade unions and a recognition by the Chancellor that without state intervention and pay protection, market forces would lead to mass\u00c2\u00a0lay-offs as employers moved towards lockdown in the face of the global Covid-19 pandemic.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n

Among his considerations were the very real potential for huge unemployment and the probability that, overnight, millions of wage-earners would be forced to swap a decent wage for poverty-inducing financial ‘support’ from an already failing universal credit system.\u00c2\u00a0 These threats have not gone away but sit on the sidelines, awaiting the mis-steps that will give them their moment.<\/p>\n

\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n

Sunak took the\u00c2\u00a0decision that has undoubtedly protected, at least for now, millions of jobs across the economy,\u00c2\u00a0allowing both employees and the self-employed to furlough where necessary with at least a resemblance of immediate financial security.\u00c2\u00a0 It was a brave\u00c2\u00a0decision taken despite opposition from cabinet hawks, the free marketeers and neo-liberals for whom market forces have always ruled the roost with\u00c2\u00a0their own cash reserves\u00c2\u00a0aplenty.\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n

JRS back in spotlight\u00c2\u00a0<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

But\u00c2\u00a0as we start the journey towards relaxing lockdown and talk shifts to rebuilding the economy, the future of the JRS is back in the spotlight.\u00c2\u00a0 Against the Cummings circus backdrop, we\u00c2\u00a0need government to state that job protection and creation are joint priorities along with the defence of public health, and to signal that is gets that this is the absolutely not the\u00c2\u00a0moment to take a sharp, ideological right.<\/p>\n

\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n

Trade unions are, as we have been from the very beginning of this crisis, working night and day\u00c2\u00a0to secure\u00c2\u00a0a safe, speedy and fair\u00c2\u00a0recovery. It was Unite’s officials who helped negotiate the JRS, and our team is also devoted now to fending off the needless, aggressive assault on 42,000 British Airways workers launched\u00c2\u00a0by their own employer, just as we are striving to persuade the government to provide the urgently-needed investment in our strategically vital industries.<\/p>\n

\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n

Support for our proposal for a National Council for Recovery, which has so far fallen on deaf ears in Number 10, is growing among the business community as the realities of the need for the country to come together at this time of national emergency sink in.\u00c2\u00a0The ideologues opposing it must stand aside, acknowledging that there is no quick fix to this crisis\u00c2\u00a0and the failed old economics, including\u00c2\u00a0passing the costs down the chain to the people, have no place in\u00c2\u00a0these vastly\u00c2\u00a0changed days.<\/p>\n

\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n

Above all, at this\u00c2\u00a0juncture\u00c2\u00a0it is vital that\u00c2\u00a0changes to the JRS are introduced on a phased basis and with maximum\u00c2\u00a0care. \u00c2\u00a0This will be a political high-wire act as the Chancellor balances opening up the economy with measures to nurture employer and worker confidence.<\/p>\n

\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n

‘Need footings of the new recovery’\u00c2\u00a0<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Speaking plainly, we now need\u00c2\u00a0the JRS to provide the footings of the\u00c2\u00a0new recovery, or there will be no hope of return at all.\u00c2\u00a0 Short-time working, job rotation and job share arrangements – maximum flexibility to get workers back to work safely with the financial security necessary to maintain demand in the economy \u00e2\u20ac\u201c will need to run hand-in-hand with JRS changes.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n

If workers could return on, say, 50 per cent of their hours with the scheme providing a salary \u00e2\u20ac\u0098top up\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 for the remaining unpaid hours, our industries could retain jobs. The alternative for many employers will be to simply cut their cloth according to their short-term needs with working people paying the price.<\/p>\n

\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n

For the vast majority of good employers, where demand has crashed and cash flow is a serious concern, introducing an employer contribution before the economy has reopened and confidence restored will leave them with few choices, leading to the mass job losses over the coming weeks that we fear. Unite is in discussions with Treasury officials, examining a variety of alternatives to simply asking employers to cough up, many of whom are simply not in a position to contribute.<\/p>\n

\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n

A broader consideration of options, such as a reduction in the monthly cap – currently \u00c2\u01412,500 – while maintaining the government\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s full contribution at 80 per cent would help many: and this is not ‘free money’, those employers who can pay their fair share should of course be obliged to do so via corporate tax policies.<\/p>\n

\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n

Reducing support to all or most right now is a blunt and disastrous\u00c2\u00a0instrument. It will lead to\u00c2\u00a0unemployment on a dreaded scale\u00c2\u00a0– much of it concentrated in those seats who gave their votes to the Tories only a few months back -\u00c2\u00a0undermining the JRS\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s very purpose of protecting jobs and undoing the taxpayer’s historic\u00c2\u00a012-week\u00c2\u00a0investment to protect jobs.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n

Don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t take that sharp right, Chancellor.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0Work with those in business and the workplaces, the experts in defending and creating jobs, and you will take the right path for the people and the country.<\/p>\n

\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n

This comment originally appeared in the Guardian<\/a><\/strong> <\/em><\/p>\n

By Len McCluskey, Unite general secretary @LenMcCluskey\u00c2\u00a0<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n

\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t take that sharp right, Chancellor.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0Work with those in business and the workplaces, the experts in defending and creating jobs, and you will take the right path for the people and the country.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":19313,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[22,1308],"tags":[1295,160,1309],"wps_subtitle":"Chancellor, avoid the sharp right-turn \u00e2\u20ac\u201c it leads to mass unemployment, writes Unite GS Len McCluskey\u00c2\u00a0","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21728"}],"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=21728"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21728\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21761,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21728\/revisions\/21761"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/19313"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=21728"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=21728"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=21728"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}