{"id":23442,"date":"2020-09-01T16:51:31","date_gmt":"2020-09-01T15:51:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/unitelive.org\/?p=23442"},"modified":"2020-09-01T16:51:31","modified_gmt":"2020-09-01T15:51:31","slug":"govt-failure-to-support-industry-is-green-light-to-sack-workers-says-unite","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/?p=23442","title":{"rendered":"Govt failure to support industry is \u00e2\u20ac\u0098green light\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 to sack workers\u00c2\u00a0says Unite"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>\n

Aviation workers from two companies which have made brutal cuts on the back of the Covid-19 pandemic are bringing their call for the government to provide long-promised support to the sector to Parliament tomorrow (Wednesday September 2).<\/p>\n

The workers \u00e2\u20ac\u201c all members of Unite the union, which is organising the demonstration – include those currently\u00c2\u00a0employed by low cost airline easyJet and Dnata Catering UK (formerly known as Alpha LSG),\u00c2\u00a0the UK\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s leading inflight caterers, as well as those who have recently lost their jobs with easyJet.<\/p>\n

Unite is warning that the government\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s persistent refusal to provide support for the aviation sector, despite its promise to do so, has given employers like easyJet a\u00c2\u00a0\u00e2\u20ac\u0098green light\u00e2\u20ac\u2122\u00c2\u00a0to attack jobs.<\/p>\n

Yesterday (August 31), easyJet closed its bases at Newcastle, Southend and Stansted airports with the loss of over 600 cabin crew jobs. In total the company is in the process of making over 1,200 cabin crew redundant, one quarter of its entire cabin crew workforce.<\/p>\n

The easyJet campaigners will be displaying a banner which reads \u00e2\u20ac\u0098Orange Outrage, Easy Option Taken\u00e2\u20ac\u2122.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile workers at Dnata Catering UK are facing a \u00e2\u20ac\u0098fire and rehire\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 scenario which will see them have their pay and conditions cuts and will be employed on contracts of just 20 hours a week, plunging them into poverty.<\/p>\n

In March, chancellor Rishi Sunak promised specific sectoral support for the aviation industry.\u00c2\u00a0 But unlike\u00c2\u00a0other European countries such as France, Germany and Spain, the promised support for UK workers has not materialised.<\/p>\n

Unite has warned that 60,000 aviation industry jobs hang in the balance and has called upon the government to act with urgency to\u00c2\u00a0extend the jobs retention scheme in order to stabilise a now exceptionally volatile sector.<\/p>\n

Unite has written to MPs of all parties inviting them to show their support for the workers by\u00c2\u00a0joining the demonstrators for a socially distanced photo opportunity, or, where they cannot attend,\u00c2\u00a0to provide supportive messages on social media.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThe government\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s failure to provide specific support to the aviation industry\u00c2\u00a0with safeguards to protect staff has given easyJet the green light to slash staff numbers,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 commented Unite regional officer Lindsey Olliver who represents easyJet workers.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThe UK government needs to take decisive action to support workers and to keep them in work rather than force them into unemployment and have to support them through paying benefits.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThe UK has failed to keep step with our foreign counterparts, leaving workers in Britain to shoulder the heaviest\u00c2\u00a0burden of job losses.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThe impact of these decisions is not only detrimental to those who have lost their livelihoods but it has a knock on effect for local communities and regional connectivity.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bBy failing to impose conditions on its loans and honouring public service obligations the government has enabled companies such as easyJet to close regional bases leaving foreign operators to capitalise on the UK\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s misfortune and fill the void to their own advantage,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 she added.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bIt is vital that MPs understand what is happening to workers in the aviation sector, particularly to the service providers such as airline caterers,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 said Unite regional officer Sheeren Higginson who represents catering workers at Heathrow.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bWe call upon MPs from right across the Commons to show that they stand with these workers and support their fight for a future.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThe workforce are facing the stress and anxiety of being put on extensive short time working and the grim prospect of detrimental changes in contracts being imposed, which will plunge them into poverty leaving them\u00c2\u00a0unable to make ends meet.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThe pandemic has had a huge effect on the aviation sector and these already low paid workers are paying the very real price for the government\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s failure to step in,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 Higginson added.<\/p>\n

Together with the TUC and all aviation unions, Unite is calling for the government to take on the economic and fiscal measures needed to support the sector, including The extension of, and modifications to, the coronavirus job retention scheme to protect employment in the aviation sector;\u00c2\u00a0suspension of air passenger duty; public service obligation routes to ensure regional connectivity; business rate relief for airports (as in Scotland and Northern Ireland); \u00c2\u00a0extending the period of repayment of loans to aviation companies beyond the current two year maximum.<\/p>\n

The full list of measures can be found on Unite\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s\u00c2\u00a0urgent summer update<\/a>\u00c2\u00a0to its\u00c2\u00a0\u00e2\u20ac\u0098Flying into the Future\u00e2\u20ac\u2122\u00c2\u00a0<\/a>blueprint, which was first published\u00c2\u00a0in May in response to the coronavirus crisis.<\/p>\n

FIND OUT MORE \u00c2\u00a0<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Last week over 100 MPs wrote<\/a> to the Chancellor Rishi Sunak calling on the job retention scheme to be extended, initially to March 2021.<\/p>\n

SIGN THE PETITION<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

A parliamentary petition<\/a> has also been launched which is calling on the government to extend the furloughs scheme for the aviation sector.<\/p>\n

By Barckley Sumner <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Aviation workers from two companies which have made brutal cuts on the back of the Covid-19 pandemic are bringing their call for the government to provide long-promised support to the sector to Parliament tomorrow (Wednesday September 2).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":4679,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1308,1214],"tags":[125,589,784,361],"wps_subtitle":"60k aviation industry jobs hang in the balance","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23442"}],"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=23442"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23442\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23446,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23442\/revisions\/23446"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4679"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=23442"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=23442"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=23442"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}