RE: Supporting our Heathrow Aviation Community

We appreciate that many businesses have been working to engage stakeholders and unions through this period, so that as a West London community we work together to face the challenges ahead. We write to offer our support where we can through this difficult time.

The aviation industry and those businesses reliant upon it have been particularly hit hard with our area being one of the most affected aviation communities. Local authority led partnerships around Heathrow are coming together to see how we can strengthen the links between employers and local skills and employments partnerships, as well as with each other.

In Parliament we have called for aviation specific support. Aviation will have a longer recovery tail. We believe a more flexible furlough scheme and other supporting policies are needed to support local businesses and employment. We will continue to press for this ahead of the Chancellor’s budget in the Autumn. Your views would be very helpful to hear.

We have disappointingly however seen some businesses using COVID-19 as an excuse to make unnecessary redundancies and attempts to reduce pay, and terms and conditions. This has led to MPs from all parties raising concerns about unacceptable attempts to fire and re-hire employees on poorer contracts. This leads to everyone losing out, as these practices also have the effect of reducing support if businesses do not use that support in the way intended. Our local casework also shows the devestating impact of such practices – with individual households seeing multiple family members lose their jobs, and the impact on the mental health of others who have experienced contractual changes being forced upon them and through feeling intimidate by the process. This has contrasted with other employers who have sought to handle these times in different ways, including where possible through re-engagement clauses and other ways to plan ahead for the medium and long term.

We are asking all employers to work with unions and local partnerships to prevent job losses where we can and to support the local workforce. This also means planning early for investment, for the creation of the new jobs and funding, to enable skills development and opportunities for the post-Covid greener economy.

Local businesses will also be key to providing the work experience and employment opportunities to help make the KickStart scheme a success for young people in our area. We would be keen to speak with you about your experience and to update you on our work and the way our local communities are organising to to support our local economy and employment in this next period.

At this unusual juncture, it is very clear that strengthening how we work together could make a real difference to the speed and the depth of our local economic recovery. We want to see your business come through this period successfully and for our Heathrow aviation community to continue to thrive as a world class local economy.

We will be in touch to arrange a call or meeting, or please contact the office of Seema Malhotra MP on seema.malhotra.mp@parliament.uk

Yours sincerely,

Seema Malhotra MP

Ruth Cadbury MP

Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi MP

Virendra Sharma MP

James Murray MP

Rt Hon John McDonnell MP

Rupa Huq MP