Extend the Furlough Scheme say’s Pontypridd MP Alex Davies-Jones

Pontypridd’s Member of Parliament urgently calls on the Chancellor to extend the furlough scheme to support aviation sector workers as the industry struggles to recover through the coronavirus pandemic.

Alex Davies-Jones, the Labour Member of Parliament for Pontypridd, is leading on a campaign to push the UK Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, into guaranteeing an extension to the furlough scheme to support the aviation sector.

The Chancellor is expected to announce an extension to the scheme currently in place to support employees who have been unable to work throughout the pandemic in his Budget next week. As the unemployment crisis looms, Pontypridd’s Labour MP has today written to the Chancellor urging him to support a smart extension with sector-specific financial protections for those in the aviation sector.

In a letter sent to Her Majesty’s Treasury today, Alex calls on the Chancellor to do the right thing and support those in highly-skilled, highly-trained jobs who have found their positions at risk through no fault of their own. Alex is also calling on the Treasury to ensure that any furlough extensions that are announced are given in good time so that employers and employees alike have time to adjust and put plans in place.

Alex Davies-Jones MP said:

“In close-knit communities like ours across Rhondda Cynon Taf, I think that I’d be hard-pressed to find someone who doesn’t have some sort of personal connection to the GE site in Nantgarw whether it be a family member currently working there or historical links with the aviation sector more widely.

That’s why I am so passionate about supporting workers not least given the close links we have in South Wales with an industry that’s been particularly badly hit by this pandemic.

Even a year down the line I don’t think a day goes by where I don’t receive a heartfelt message from a current or former GE employee and know so many feel badly left behind by the limited, last-minute financial support that has been made available by the Chancellor so far.

These workers need and deserve better. The aviation sector is the backbone of our economy both locally and across the UK and it is only just surviving. The Chancellor says he is committed to supporting businesses but it is the everyday workers at all levels who really are the backbone of the sector, and I know that they have been the hardest hit.

The Chancellor must do the right thing in his Budget next week and not only announce an extension to the furlough scheme but also give businesses and employees enough time to readily prepare for the future.”