Today I am backing calls by the Trade Union Congress for the UK Government to ditch its welfare reform proposals and introduce policies to help workers who are being laid off.
The new unemployment figures announced yesterday reveal that 164,000 more people are unemployed in the last quarter to August than in the previous quarter. The TUC proposals include increasing the statutory minimum redundancy pay (as promised by Labour in their 2005 manifesto), greater tax relief on redundancy payments and a reverse in cuts to front line staff at the DWP who deal with the unemployed. Ordinary people face real uncertainty in the current economic climate. The instability in world markets isn’t a distant, abstract notion: it is very real, and many people are struggling, especially those who have lost their job.
The UK Government has demonstrated in their action in the last few days that in times of economic hardship, resources can be found in an attempt to avoid economic meltdown. I sincerely believe that resources must now be found to help those who are out of work as a result of the mess that greedy City bosses have got us into. In accordance to this, adjustments to taxation policy could yield much needed help to those made redundant.
The TUC are right to point out that since 1989 the amount people can receive in redundancy without tax deductions has frozen at £30,000. It must reflect inflation rises since 1989 which mean that level should be increased to £50,000.
Ieuan Wyn Jones announced yesterday that £35 million is being allocated to help redundant workers. Of course, its high time for the UK Government to step up to the plate and show the same decisive action as Ieuan. The consequences of not acting now to help those who need help most could result in unacceptable hardship and could lead to an escalation in child poverty and fuel poverty.
