Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton Constituency, has called for support to be provided for all employees who are still off on furlough when the Job Retention Scheme ends in October.

Figures from HMRC show that 31% of the workforce in both Argyll and Bute and West Dunbartonshire have been furloughed. This means that over 30,000 employees across the two local authorities have been forced to stop working. National trends for the Job Retention Scheme across Scotland showed that by mid-August around 44% of those employees who had been put on the Job Retention Scheme were still off on furlough. Applying that trend to West Dunbartonshire and Argyll and Bute, upwards of 13,000 employees could still be on furlough.

Jackie Baillie has repeatedly called for support to be given to all those who have found themselves out of work as a result of the Covid-19 crisis. She previously welcomed the scheme being extended until October but now is calling for support to be in place for all those who are still unable to return to work once the Job Retention Scheme ends.

Jackie Baillie MSP said:

“Tens of thousands of furloughed employees are facing a cliff edge when the Job Retention Scheme ends next month – including thousands across my own constituency.

“If workplaces are not able to take back their furloughed staff then we are going to see the rate of unemployment go through the roof and families across Scotland will really struggle to make ends meet in the coming months.

“The Scottish and UK Governments must work together to ensure that working-age people across Scotland are not abandoned when this scheme ends. I want to see a secure jobs guarantee scheme and for our advice centres to be given the resources needed to provide support and protection for those most in need.”