{"id":28133,"date":"2021-03-22T16:05:25","date_gmt":"2021-03-22T16:05:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/unitelive.org\/?p=28133"},"modified":"2021-03-23T09:50:30","modified_gmt":"2021-03-23T09:50:30","slug":"seize-the-initiative","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/?p=28133","title":{"rendered":"\u00e2\u20ac\u0098Seize the initiative\u00e2\u20ac\u2122"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"fb-root\"><\/div>\n<p>Ahead of\u00c2\u00a0the first anniversary of the UK\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s first lockdown, pollster\u00c2\u00a0Survation has carried out comprehensive research for Unite the union of MPs and industry leaders on their post-pandemic priorities and attitudes for businesses and workers.<\/p>\n<p>With business leaders indicating that they would back an improvement of workers\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 rights, Unite says that the findings should see\u00c2\u00a0the government\u00c2\u00a0&#8216;seize the initiative&#8217;<strong><em>\u00c2\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>and move to outlaw the horrific\u00c2\u00a0practice of fire and rehire. Fire and rehire sees employers attack wages and conditions and is at the centre of industrial disputes presently\u00c2\u00a0raging across the country.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.survation.com\/post-pandemic-planning-jobs-support-and-worker-rights-supported-by-mps-and-businesses\/\">The polling<\/a>, which took place over three different waves during the latest lockdown\u00c2\u00a0in January and February, found that:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>A majority of MPs and industry leaders favour an improvement to workers\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 rights.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>A majority of business and industry leaders would like to see more generous terms and conditions for sick pay.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Post-pandemic planning is the top priority for MPs and business leaders.\u00c2\u00a0As a net overall score, post-pandemic planning (83 per cent) and extending the JRS (76 per cent) remain the top two priorities for the government to address.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>73 per cent of businesses have been harmed by the pandemic.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Commenting on the poll, Unite general secretary Len McCluskey said.\u00c2\u00a0\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThese findings show that there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s no clamour for going back to business as usual after the pandemic. Given the wide support among MPs \u00e2\u20ac\u201c including one fifth of Tory MPs &#8211; and business leaders for improved workers\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 rights, I urge\u00c2\u00a0the government to build on this.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>\u00e2\u20ac\u0098Arrest abuse of fire and rehire\u00e2\u20ac\u2122\u00c2\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u015bSeize the initiative and move to arrest the latest abuse of UK workers\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 rights, the disease of fire and rehire that is ripping through our workplaces.\u00c2\u00a0Millions of workers are now fighting to hang onto the wages that support their families as contracts signed in good faith are being\u00c2\u00a0destroyed by bad employers without consequence.<\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u015bFire and rehire belongs in the dark ages, not a modern-day nation, so I say to the government do the right thing: make the first law of the post-pandemic period one that bans this hideous practice.<\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThere is also agreement that the pitiful\u00c2\u00a0level of poverty sick pay in this country must be raised.\u00c2\u00a0Matt Hancock admitted that he could not live on the miserable pennies of support we give to workers who have to isolate during the pandemic.\u00c2\u00a0It must be improved, and the majority of business leaders agree that this should happen.<\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u015bMPs and business leaders have also made it clear that planning for recovery must be the government\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s top priority.\u00c2\u00a0In six months\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 time, the government is determined that the jobs retention scheme will end.\u00c2\u00a0We think September is just too soon and will mean\u00c2\u00a0rising unemployment going into the winter.<\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u015b2020 was a year of jobs destruction, 2021 ought to be a year of jobs creation but we have yet to see\u00c2\u00a0ambition or energy on this\u00c2\u00a0from the government. The prime minister\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s promise to build back better must not be a hollow\u00c2\u00a0one.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n<p>Concluding McCluskey added, \u00e2\u20ac\u015bOur country has suffered both the hardest economic hurt and the largest loss of life per population in the western world.\u00c2\u00a0It now sits on the precipice of a further\u00c2\u00a0frightening economic contraction; only mass\u00c2\u00a0investment and action now will save jobs, avert mass unemployment and recover the economy.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n<p><em><strong>READ<\/strong><strong>\u00c2\u00a0<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p>The poll of MPs and business leaders by Survation can be accessed\u00c2\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.survation.com\/post-pandemic-planning-jobs-support-and-worker-rights-supported-by-mps-and-businesses\/\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>\u00c2\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>By Ryan Fletcher <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Ahead of\u00c2\u00a0the first anniversary of the UK\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s first lockdown, pollster\u00c2\u00a0Survation has carried out comprehensive research for Unite the union of MPs and industry leaders on their post-pandemic priorities and attitudes for businesses and workers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":18317,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1308,1],"tags":[1295,1409,160],"wps_subtitle":"Exclusive poll shows wide support for post-pandemic planning and workers\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 rights","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28133"}],"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=28133"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28133\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28137,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28133\/revisions\/28137"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/18317"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=28133"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=28133"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=28133"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}