Could furlough be extended again? Government urged to continue scheme or risk mass unemployment
Mr Sunak has previously insisted that the scheme will not stretch any further, but failing to do so could lead to millions of people being left out of work according the Treasury Select Committee.
Chancellor Rishi Sunak is being urged by MPs and key members of British industry to extend the furlough scheme or risk ‘mass unemployment’ in the UK.
The Government’s job retention programme – which allows businesses to claim back 80% of their employees’ wages – was launched during lockdown and has supported more than 9.6 million workers in the UK.
Headed by Sunak, the furlough scheme was originally due to run into the summer, but was extended by a further four months in May.
The Chancellor has insisted the scheme will not stretch any further, but failing to take action could lead to millions of people being left out of work according the Treasury Select Committee.
Chairman, Mel Stride, said a “targeted” approach ought to be considered.
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“The key will be assisting those businesses who, with additional support, can come through the crisis as sustainable enterprises, rather than focusing on those that will unfortunately just not be viable in the changed post-crisis economy.”
The Guardian also reports that Make UK, which represents 20,000 companies in engineering, manufacturing, technology and the industrial sector, were fearing a ‘fresh wave of redundancies’ in autumn if the scheme ends as planned.
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Chief Executive Stephen Phipson said: “The protection of key skills should be a strategic national priority as this will be the first building block in getting the economy up and running.
“Ensuring that those sectors which are at the forefront of technology and will provide the growth sectors and high-skill jobs in recovery should receive the greatest support possible.”
Steve Turner, Assistant General Secretary of trade union Unite, also campaigned for an extension, claiming: “Hundreds of thousands of workers could face a desperate future” unless the government moves “swiftly to modify the Job Retention Scheme.”
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Thousands of jobs have already been lost as the UK economy entered a recession earlier this year.
Manchester City Council leader, Sir Richard Leese, has called getting the country back on track the “greatest challenge we have faced in our lifetimes.”
Manchester Museum’s iconic T-Rex Stan is moving for the first time over 20 years
Emily Sergeant
Manchester Museum’s iconic T-Rex Stan is moving locations for the first time over 20 years.
Stan, the famous Tyrannosaurus rex at the heart of Manchester Museum’s Fossils Gallery, is on the move from one historic building to another, as he leaves his home in the Museum next spring for a spectacular residency in a Grade II-listed Edwardian swimming pool.
That’s right – the famous dinosaur is heading on holiday to Victoria Baths, where he’ll be on display in the Gala Pool, marking the first time he has left Manchester Museum since arriving there in 2004.
The process of moving Stan to Victoria Baths is already being tipped as a ‘gargantuan task’.
Manchester Museum’s iconic T-Rex Stan is moving for the first time over 20 years / Credit: The Manc Group
It’s expected that the move will take a team of specialists a full week, as at 12-metres long and 3.7-metres tall, big boy Stan is roughly the size of a double decker bus and his bones must be dismantled and reassembled in a strict order to ensure counterbalance and stop him from toppling over.
During the residency at Victoria Baths, Stan will be on display to the public but will also act as the centrepiece for a full programme of events – with more details set to be announced soon.
“This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity for people to experience this incredible Tyrannosaurus rex in an entirely different context,” explained Georgina Young, who is the Acting Director at Manchester Museum.
“Not only is Victoria Baths breathtakingly beautiful, but their team will bring renewed creativity to encounters with Stan.”
Anthony Baker, CEO of the Victoria Baths Trust, added: “Victoria Baths would like to state for the record that we did not invite a T-Rex skeleton into our Grade II-listed swimming pool. Stan has made his own arrangements and we are simply going along with it.
“He is insisting that we open our doors for free so that as many people can visit him as possible and it is very difficult to say no to a giant dinosaur, especially when he asked so nicely.”
Stan the T-Rex will be at Victoria Baths from 22 March to 19 April 2027, and he’ll be free to pop in and say hello to.
Featured Image – Stephen Gidley (via Flickr)
News
Workers at major Manchester city centre hotel to strike this bank holiday weekend
Emily Sergeant
Workers at one of the most prominent hotels in Manchester city centre are set to strike this bank holiday weekend.
Workers at Kimpton Clocktower Hotel and its bar venue The Refuge, who are members of the union Unite, will take 24 hours of strike action on Saturday (29 August) in what is said to be a ‘long-running dispute’ over union busting.
The strike day chosen by the workers is the second day of this year’s Manchester Village Pride, and is historically the most lucrative day of the year for their employer.
This is because Kimpton Clocktower is located very close to the Pride Parade route, and for several years has been a very popular location for people attending the festival, and even runs a number of Pride events itself.
Unite says that for months now, workers at the Kimpton Clocktower – which is owned by InterContinental Hotels Group UK (IHG) – have been asking for formal union recognition to improve conditions after raising several issues with management, but IHG UK has refused this and instead ‘targeted’ the union for its actions.
Workers at a major Manchester city centre hotel are set to strike this bank holiday weekend / Credit: Rebecca Hope Photography (Supplied)
Previous strikes have already taken place this summer, apparently causing ‘financial hits’ to the business in the process – with the bar being forced to close early at several events as there were not enough staff to cover them.
“A strike on Kimpton’s most profitable day is entirely of its own making,” commented Unite regional officer, Alison Treacher. “Throughout this dispute, Kimpton Clocktower management have treated its loyal workforce with contempt and our members have shown they will not stand for it.
“There is still time to avoid this highly disruptive strike action, but that relies on IHG changing tack by listening to its members and giving them the union recognition they have long been calling for.”
This dispute is said to be the first ever hospitality strike in the North West.
Unite is currently running a petition demanding that IHG UK stop targeting union activists, recognise the Kimpton workers rights to have their grievance heard collectively, and support their union recognition campaign.
The Manc -
11th September 2020 
