Invest now to save jobs and secure recovery – Prospect tells committee of MPs

The government needs to invest in the economy to save jobs at immediate risk and secure a sustainable recovery, Prospect general secretary Mike Clancy told MPs on Thursday.

Clancy was called to give evidence to the Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy Committee as part of an inquiry into the impact of COVID-19 on workers across the UK.

Clancy was able to raise a number of issues, including the hardship caused by the ongoing gaps in the government’s income support schemes, which has led to hundreds of thousands of freelancers and other workers missing out on support.

He urged MPs to call for an urgent rescue package for sectors such as theatre and live events that are facing immediate pressure on jobs and are starting redundancy procedures.

Clancy also pointed MPs to the crucial role of the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) in the current phase as workers are going back to their places of work. He pointed out that the HSE has seen its funding slashed by more than 50% since 2010 and that there are not enough inspectors to deliver the “spot checks” promised by the Prime Minister.

For the future, Clancy argued that unions had to be involved in the phases of the recovery and that countries that had pre-existing structures for engaging with businesses and unions were the ones best able to manage the impact of the pandemic.