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Boris Johnson has confirmed that a key announcement will be made about the coronavirus suspension plan tomorrow.
More than 6 million workers hope to discover how support for them will continue after the end of June, in a scheme that costs as much as the NHS.
It comes after millions of people who were not on the licensing plan, including in construction and manufacturing, were told to start returning to work from Wednesday in England.
Boris Johnson announced Sunday night that people who were unable to work from home would be “actively encouraged” to return to work.
Guidelines on how to keep workers safe will also be released tonight, the prime minister said.
He clarified the position after a major dispute over when workers would have to return. Johnson originally said that people should return to work from “this week,” which would lead to chaotic scenes on public transportation this morning.
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Returning workers have been warned by the prime minister to avoid public transportation and walk, bike or drive, but unions warn that many have no other choice.
Under the innovative licensing scheme, 6.3 million people went on to have up to 80% of their salary paid by the state.
That support, worth up to £ 2,500 per month for staff who cannot work, is currently due in late June and will be “liquidated”.
Prime Minister said chancellor Rishi Sunak will provide an update on the scheme. The time, format and theme have yet to be confirmed.
Today’s roadmap to ease the Covid-19 blockade warns: “These measures are extraordinarily expensive and cannot be sustained for an extended period of time.”
“As the UK adjusts the current restrictions, the government will also need to reduce economic support measures while people return to work.”
Chancellor Rishi Sunak has insisted that there will be no “cliff edge” ending to the licensing plan.
But reports have suggested that support will drop from 80% to 60%, raising alarm among workers and unions.
Most workers have not chosen to be fired and the bosses have put them on the plan against their will.
Liberal Democrat MP Layla Moran warned today that there should be clarity before the deadline this Friday.
If clarity doesn’t come by then, he said, many companies could begin the process of firing workers.
She said: “The government must, in the next 24 to 48 hours, present its plan for the license plan.
“I am suggesting they keep it in place until September, particularly for the tourism and hospitality industries.
“They should also introduce flexibility, allowing companies to pay part-time by the hour when appropriate, with the government completing the rest.”
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Downing Street has made it clear that it “will continue to keep it under review” and will extend it if necessary. Boris Johnson’s spokesman said April 24: “It is our intention to support workers and businesses.”
Alan Lockey of the RSA think tank warned that if he went offline he could see a return to the levels of the 1930s, when unemployment reached 3 million.
He told the newspaper: “An estimated 27% of the entire workforce is on the decline, with more than 80% of workers in the hospitality sector affected.
“If those people were fired, the level of unemployment would skyrocket to levels not seen since the Great Depression.”
Meanwhile, the chancellor is infuriated by his refusal to close a loophole for new holders in the license plan.
Last month, Sunak bowed to the pressure and extended the deadline from February 28 to March 19.
But tens of thousands of people who started a new job in March still don’t qualify, because their first payday must have been before March 19.
More than 4,000 people, including Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham and Labor and SNP MPs, signed an open letter from the New Starter Justice campaign calling for the loophole to be closed.
A Treasury spokesman said: “The Coronavirus job retention scheme is protecting jobs and businesses during this crisis and has already supported millions of workers across the UK.
“Future decisions about the scheme will take into account the broader context of the measures implemented, as well as the public health response.
“We have been clear that there will be no cliff edge and people will return to work in measured measure.”
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