Responding to media reports that the chancellor is drawing up a new plan to subsidise workers' wages, Unite General Secretary, Len McCluskey, said: "with the prime minister’s comments in the House of Commons today and reports that the chancellor is considering a wage subsidy scheme, finally we have a glimmer of hope for the many thousands of workers who face losing their jobs over the coming weeks.
"But there cannot be any further delay. Thousands of jobs hang by a thread in sectors such as aviation, aerospace, automotive and hospitality which continue to be hard hit by this pandemic.
"People face the terrible prospect of losing their jobs and their homes because of this government’s stubborn inaction; the chancellor must step in now to prevent a level of human misery and mass unemployment not seen for 40 years.
"The vast majority of other European countries have already adopted a similar wage subsidy and the UK needs to follow suit before it is too late.
"It did the right thing before with the Jobs Retention Scheme and must rediscover those instincts decisively and swiftly or it will never be forgiven by working people."
