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Regional secretary with the National Education Union
The government has lost control of coronavirus
The Tories have failed on the virus, failed on jobs and now they threaten a partial shutdown that will only damage the economy. But there is an alternative, writes DIANE ABBOTT

UNLESS this government gets to grips with the spread of the coronavirus and unless it changes course on economic policy, workers across the country are going to face even further huge job losses and pay cuts. The poorest will be hardest hit, with black and Asian people once again bearing a disproportionate burden.

We do not have to accept this outcome. This week Unite’s Len McCluskey wrote to Boris Johnson demanding an extension of the furlough scheme otherwise there would be “an avalanche of job losses.”

Barely before the letter was sent the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) confirmed that threat and was reporting that fully half of its member firms were planning further lay-offs. This is in addition to the hundreds of thousands who have already lost full-time jobs.

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