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Labor has accused UK Chancellor Rishi Sunak of consigning more than 1 million jobs to “scrap” after failing to protect workers in the wedding, exhibition and festival industries hardest hit in his plans to Covid emergency.
The shadow ministers claimed that the chancellor overlooked the plight of companies that rely on massive gatherings, including events, festivals, sports venues and theaters, when she presented her winter economic plan last week.
Sunak’s new employment support plan aims to get people back to work part-time, at least a third of their regular hours, during the pandemic. However, Labor said this was “impossible” for those sectors that are still closed as a result of Covid-19 and are unlikely to reopen during the next six months without an effective mass testing system.
According to figures compiled by Labor, jobs at risk in the culture and events sector include:
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Conference and event industry: 142,000 catering companies, 11,000 exhibition organizers, and 18,000 people holding conferences.
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Creative, arts and entertainment sector, including theaters, cinemas: 90,000.
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sports: 369,000.
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Wedding: 500,000 including caterers, florists, photographers, dressmakers, beauticians, etc.
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Night life: 69,000 employees in nightclubs and 428,000 employees in pubs and bars.
Labor pointed to industry surveys showing the wedding industry alone had already lost around £ 4.8bn to the pandemic, after 127,000 nuptials were postponed until at least 2021. New ones are also expected to impact. restrictions that reduce the number of wedding guests from 30 to 15 at least 70,000 weddings this year.
Meanwhile, many venues in the nightlife industry are still closed or are now facing reduced business due to the new government curfew at 10 p.m. for drinkers.
The pantomimes, which can generate enough revenue to sustain a theater for the rest of the year, are expected to be canceled as Christmas approaches and the government maintains strict limits on social gatherings.
Dry cleaners, shoe repair shops and tailors are also among the companies that have seen a big drop in revenue since March and will continue to suffer revenue losses until office workers return to work in city centers. .
Lucy Powell, Shadow Minister for Business and Consumers, said: “The chancellor is sending entire sectors of our economy to scrap, damaging lives and livelihoods and threatening recovery. The failure of ministers to ensure an effective test, track and trace system means that many companies have no idea when they can reopen. The decision to exclude these companies from the employment support plan compounds the damage. “
Powell said that while Labor had called on the government to come up with an effective plan to restore jobs, retrain workers and rebuild businesses, “this is not all.”
“Even for those who can access it, the labor support scheme is poorly designed and could lead to a wave of job losses, because the Chancellor’s sums do not add up to companies. You have to think again, before the jobs crisis reaches a tipping point, “he added.
Former Prime Minister Gordon Brown also criticized Sunak’s economic plan, saying there are “fundamental flaws” in the employment support scheme, which failed to serve the 1.5 million currently unemployed or the 3 million self-employed. that are not covered. per the licensing scheme.
The former Labor leader is expected to say at a Communication Workers Union conference on Monday that the government should “restart” its plans and convene a special summit to avoid the threat of a “Covid generation” of unemployed youth. He said 500,000 young people were at risk of ending up on the streets or isolated in their homes without additional help during the pandemic.
The Treasury said in a statement: “Supporting employment is our top priority, so on Thursday we established a series of new measures, including the employment support plan to protect millions of jobs, the expansion of the self-employment income support plan and the reduction 15% VAT for the hospitality and tourism sectors and help businesses pay off government-backed loans. “
The spokesperson also highlighted the £ 1,000 coronavirus job retention bonus previously announced by the chancellor for companies bringing employees back from leave.
“As the chancellor has said, it would be fundamentally wrong to keep people in jobs that only exist within the permit,” the Treasury said. “Our focus will continue to be creating new opportunities for people across the UK and supporting them to get secure jobs.”
