Campaign launches to Keep Britain Working during Covid-19 crisis
Keep Britain Working has been launched to support businesses and workers during the coronavirus crisis.
The campaign, which aims to preserve lives and protect livelihoods, looks to redeploy UK workers from struggling sectors into in-demand ones and help people who have lost their jobs find news ones.
It launches today [20 April] as a result of cross-industry business leaders and politicians coming together in the wake of predictions by the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) that the UK economy could shrink by 35%, resulting in a total of 3.4m people becoming unemployed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. According to the OBR predictions, this would mean 2m people losing their jobs this spring.
The campaign has been launched on keepbritainworking.com. It will encourage businesses and workers to make pledges to #KeepBritainWorking both during the crisis and beyond, a statement from the campaign said.
James Reed, chairman of the REED recruitment business, is co-founder of Keep Britain Working. He said the potential economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic could be disastrous, and businesses should work together, sharing ideas, resources and support.
“We’re on a mission to Keep Britain Working,” Reed said. “We’ll do this by sharing the best ideas, advice and guidance to support businesses and workers, by connecting those who have lost their jobs from sectors that are struggling to those that are in demand, and by inspiring people across the nation to focus on how, where and when we work, once we move away from the current challenges.”
Supporting the movement are Lord Alan Sugar; James Timpson, CEO of Timpson; Severn Trent CEO Liv Garfield; and JCB’s Lord Bamford. MPs Penny Mordaunt, Steven Brine and Caroline Nokes, and MSP Jamie Hepburn, and the CBI are also on board.
The Recruitment & Employment Confederation (REC) also support the drive.
Recruiter has contacted the campaign to obtain details about how the effort will be carried out. We will update you once we have further information.
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