GMB responds to Chancellor's jobs support scheme

Whether this is enough to stave off widespread redundancies depends very much on the detail says GMB Union

GMB, Britain’s general union, has responded to the Chancellor’s Jobs Support Scheme, announced today.

John Phillips, Acting General Secretary, said:

“It’s absolutely vital there is targeted support for jobs - it’s come late in the day, it was always completely untenable to allow the economy to fall off a furlough cliff edge.

“Whether this is enough to stave off widespread redundancies depends very much on the detail, and it will be judged not just on jobs but on people’s living standards and ability to pay the bills.

“GMB is calling on all employers who have redundancies planned to halt those processes and reassess based on this announcement. If bosses won’t do that, the Government must step in.

“It’s incredibly disappointing not to see much bolder, forward thinking action.

“We’ve had a decade of underinvestment in our economy - for it to bounce back as quickly as possible, we need investment in infrastructure, training and skills in sustainable jobs and industries - not just to protect the jobs we have but create new jobs and a new economy as we come out of this crisis.”