Seema Malhotra MP, Shadow Minister for Employment, has written an article for Eastern Eye calling for an “inclusive plan” to combat the jobs crisis caused by the pandemic:
“As we emerge from lockdown into a new “normal”, a clear plan for tackling unemployment has to be on the government’s agenda, based on a proper needs assessment of different groups.
The first step has to be a ‘back to work budget’ in July, with a focus on jobs, jobs, jobs. One size will not fit all, with figures showing our country is faced with a deeply unequal employment challenge.
Three million people have applied for universal credit since the start of March and the OECD [Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development] has warned we are likely to face the deepest economic scarring of any recession in peacetime for the last 100 years. Behind these country-wide figures, unemployment is hitting different sectors, places, demographics hard.”