The Covid pandemic has further exposed the evils of low pay and insecure employment and allowed further exploitation at work. Some unscrupulous employers are using the crisis to attack workers’ rights and conditions, threatening them with loss of jobs unless they accept lower pay. Now, more than ever, workers need to join a union and organise together to maintain jobs, pay and conditions, says Bridgwater Labour Party.
Information about which union to join can be found here https://www.tuc.org.uk/joinunion.
Bridgwater Branch Chair, Glen Burrows, says “If the government ends the furlough scheme in October, there will be a massive wave of unemployment. Instead, state support for workers must continue, along with a phased return to work and a programme of skills and training development. Many people on low pay will be forced to go back to work, risking their health and that of their families, because Inadequate levels of sick pay for most workers means many worker cannot afford to take time off. At just £95.85 a week, statutory sick pay in the UK isn’t enough to live on – and 2 million people don’t earn enough to qualify. The government should scrap the minimum earnings threshold for statutory sick pay and increase the weekly level of sick pay to at least the level of the real Living Wage – £320 per week.”
There can be no return to the economic model that existed before the pandemic. The Labour Party is calling for a national plan for jobs and for measures to protect stricken industries. Unions and the Labour Party must work together to develop a powerful voice to demand and implement change.
Contact: Secretary Julie Cordiner: jcordiner77@gmail.com Chair Gen Burrows: burrowsg71@gmail.com