A leading union official has joined calls to extend furlough for the aviation industry.
Unite assistant general secretary Diana Holland warned that the ending of the furlough scheme at the end of September meant jobs would be “needlessly lost”.
Aviation industry workers and staff at UK airports should be allowed to remain on furlough until next year when travel restrictions are likely to be lifted and the airline industry returns to normal, according to business groups and unions.
The plea comes as unions and industry lobby groups prepare for a spike in redundancies as employers, many of them struggling to cope with the impact of the Delta variant, prepare to take back staff on the coronavirus job retention scheme.
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As many as 1.7 million workers were on furlough at the beginning of August and many of their jobs are expected to be in jeopardy when employers are forced to pay all their wages.
Kate Bell, head of economics at the TUC, told The Guardian that while there was little evidence of large companies making mass redundancies, there were many smaller firms in financial difficulties unable to maintain previous levels of employment.
Holland said: “Foremost among these is the aviation sector, whose recovery is still delayed and unlike any other sector is hugely reliant on the lifting of international restrictions.
“As a minimum the furlough scheme should continue for the aviation sector. A failure to do so will dramatically damage the long-term recovery of this critical sector to the UK economy.”
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