‘PM, do not abandon working people now in their hour of need’
After the last two days’ jobs blood bath, Unite GS Len McCluskey calls on Johnson to extend JRS
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Back in April, I was among the first to welcome the jobs retention scheme (JRS). It was the right thing to do. But it should never be the last word in help for desperate workers.
Disappointingly, support sectors were promised by government back in March has not materialised.
In aviation, aerospace, auto and hospitality, workers with first-class skills are not being engaged in a national effort to build this country back better than before this vicious virus.
‘Whatever it takes’ to help UK workers through this crisis has been replaced with ‘you’re on your own, mate.’
Across the Channel, it’s a different story. Workers in Stuttgart, Madrid and Toulouse know that their government will keep them in employment. They can breathe knowing that they can feed their families and do a decent day’s work.
Mr Johnson, why can’t you do the same for Britain’s workers? Do one thing today, extend the JRS.
That one action will help pull desperate businesses back from the brink and stop the tens of thousands of lost jobs now spiralling into a 1930s-style depression.
Remember, it was the workers of this country who kept us going through this crisis.
They deserve so much more than second-hand projects and loose change schemes.
PM, it’s time to act like the Churchill you so admire. Do not abandon working people now in their hour of need.
By Len McCluskey, Unite general secretary @LenMcCluskey
This comment first appeared in the Daily Mirror, July 2
