Government promise of ‘jam tomorrow’ for aviation industry is too little, too late
- Monday 7 September 2020
Government proposals to launch an aviation recovery plan this autumn to provide support for the sector until 2025 will not end the ongoing aviation jobs haemorrhage currently occurring, Unite, the principal aviation union, has warned.
Jam tomorrow
Unite national officer for aviation Oliver Richardson said: “Aviation workers are being promised jam tomorrow when what they need is bread and butter today.
“The government’s recovery programme needs to go much further than rehash previous policies. What we need are genuine solutions which will instil the confidence in the industry that it can recover from the effects of the pandemic, and will enable them to plan accordingly.
“The publication this autumn of a report, which is aimed at helping the aviation industry recover by 2025, is not going to stem the tidal wave of redundancies that the industry is facing today.
“The industry is making decisions on job cuts based on the lack of tangible assistance from government, and until such real practical support is provided the loss of jobs will continue.
“It is all very well the government talking about the recovery of the aviation industry by 2025, but airlines and airports are at real risk of closure, unless immediate action is taken there will simply not be a recognisable sector to build back up.”
No further delay
Unite assistant general secretary Diana Holland said: “The fact that the government is finally developing a plan to support the aviation sector is welcome.
“While this is an important step, it cannot be forgotten that it is six months since support for the aviation sector was first promised by government.
“Thousands of jobs in the aviation sector have already been lost and many more redundancies are already in the pipeline.
“The publication of a report ‘in the autumn' is too late. Not only must this report be published immediately, it must include immediate assistance to the industry.
“Direct intervention by the government to protect jobs is the only way that aviation companies are going to reconsider shedding jobs and prevent the loss of a professional, skilled, experienced and dedicated workforce.”
Cross party support
Together with the TUC and all aviation unions, Unite is calling for the government to take on the economic and fiscal measures needed to support the sector, including:
- The extension of, and modifications to, the coronavirus job retention scheme to protect employment in the aviation sector
- Suspension of air passenger duty
- Public service obligation routes to ensure regional connectivity
- Business rate relief for airports (as in Scotland and Northern Ireland)
- Extending the period of repayment of loans to aviation companies beyond the current two year maximum.
Blueprint for aviation
The full list of measures can be found on Unite’s urgent summer update to its ‘Flying into the Future’ blueprint, which was first published in May in response to the coronavirus crisis.
ENDS
Notes to editors:
For media enquiries ONLY please contact Unite senior communications officer Barckley Sumner on 07802 329235 or 0203 371 2067.
Email: [email protected]
Unite is Britain and Ireland’s largest union with members working across all sectors of the economy. The general secretary is Len McCluskey.