TUC calls on Treasury to create permanent furlough scheme

Union wants workers to be protected against future disruptions by having 80% of wages guaranteed by state

The TUC is urging the government to abandon plans to scrap the furlough scheme at the end of next month and instead build on the wage subsidy experiment to create a permanent short-time working scheme.

Plans drawn up by the TUC would protect workers against recessions, a new wave of the pandemic or the transition to a green economy by having 80% of their wages guaranteed by the state.