One in five workers – the equivalent of around 6 million people – believe they could lose their jobs within six months in the wake of the coronavirus epidemic, a new survey has suggested.
And the Survation poll for left-wing thinktank Class (Centre for Labour and Social Studies) found that 60 per cent of workers fear that they would be unable to cover their rent or mortgage for more than three months if they lost their jobs.
Around 70 per cent of those questioned said they expected a recession in the UK as a result of the Covid-19 outbreak.
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And more than three-quarters (77 per cent) of those predicting recession said they expected it to be worse than the downturn which followed the financial crash of 2018, with 73 per cent saying it would last more than a year.
Some 19 percent of workers – and 25 percent of the self-employed and those aged 18-24 – reported that they felt ‘somewhat or very unconfident’ that they will keep their current job for the next six months.
An overwhelming 65 per cent said that in the wake of the pandemic, Boris Johnson’s government should prioritise investment in public services to bolster economic recovery, against 22 per cent who said it should impose cuts in order to repay debts built up during the crisis.
And large majorities supported pay rises for NHS staff (78 per cent), emergency workers (76 per cent), carers (75 per cent), supermarket staff (70 per cent), delivery drivers (65 per cent) and bus and train drivers (63 per cent).
At the same time 69 per cent of those polled supported taxing the wealthy more in response to the coronavirus pandemic, while 57 per cent said the government should take action to reduce inequality, against just 9 per cent who said it should not.
Class director Faiza Shaheen said the survey, published alongside the think tank’s report Coronavirus and the Workers Emergency, showed that chancellor Rishi Sunak must do more than simply extend the furlough scheme, which is currently due to run until October.
She called for a new job creation scheme and substantial fiscal stimulus to enable the UK to grow its way out of recession with well-paid green jobs.
“It is shocking that over half of all workers fear they are so close to being without a roof over their heads,” said Dr Shaheen.
“Millions of people – including those now on Universal Credit and those not qualifying for the furlough scheme – will be increasingly desperate as their mortgage and rent holidays end.
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1/50 17 May 2020People on Brighton beach after the introduction of measures to bring the country out of lockdown
PA
2/50 16 May 2020Police lead away Piers Corbyn, brother of former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, as protesters gather in breach of lockdown rules in Hyde Park in London after the introduction of measures to bring the country out of lockdown.
PA
3/50 15 May 2020Estonian freelance ballet dancer and choreographer, Eve Mutso performs her daily fitness routine near her home in Glasgow, Scotland
Getty
4/50 14 May 2020Senior charge nurse Jan Ferguson views artwork “Theatre of Dott’s” by Kate Ive, inspired by Professor Norman Dott and his neurosurgery theatres at the Western General from 1960-2019. It is one of a number of artworks which sit on the walls of NHS Lothians’ Department of Clinical Neurosciences (DCN) which has been transferred into a purpose-built new home on the Little France campus in Edinburgh
PA
5/50 13 May 2020Team GB’s karate athlete Jordan Thomas trains outside his apartment in Manchester
Reuters
6/50 12 May 2020Nurses from central London hospitals protest on international nurses day about the chronic underfunding of the NHS and other issues surrounding the health service outside the gates of Downing Street, London
PA
7/50 11 May 2020Waves crash at Tynemouth pier on the North East coast
PA
8/50 10 May 2020A woman passes street art and a poster in East London
Reuters
9/50 9 May 2020Police patrol the beach in Brighton
Getty
10/50 8 May 2020The British Royal Air Force Red Arrows conduct a fly past over the statue of former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill in London to commemorate the 75th Anniversary of Victory in Europe (VE Day) in Britain
MOD/Reuters
11/50 7 May 2020Team GB sailor Eilidh McIntyre during a training session at her home in Portsmouth
Reuters
12/50 6 May 2020Labour Party leader Keir Starmer listens to Prime Minister Boris Johnson speaking during PMQs
UK Parliament/AFP/Getty
13/50 5 May 2020The sun appears to explode over the horizon in this montage of images captured by photographer Nick Lucas near his home in Ringwood, Hampshire. Nick took a number of pictures just a few seconds apart on a tripod mounted camera which were then combined to give the eye catching dawn image
Nick Lucas/SWNS
14/50 4 May 2020Leeds Green Watch firefighters observe a minute’s silence outside the fire station in Kirkstall Rd, in memory their colleagues that lost their lives in the line of duty
PA
15/50 3 May 2020Staff at The Berkeley hotel give food to ambulance workers
Reuters
16/50 2 May 2020One of a small group of anti-lockdown protesters speaks to a police officer as they gather outside New Scotland Yard in Victoria, London
AFP via Getty
17/50 1 May 2020Bonnie the Llama grazes in a field in the Scottish Borders alongside a sign supporting the NHS as the UK continues in lockdown
PA
18/50 30 April 2020Colonel Tom Moore and his daughter Hannah celebrate his 100th birthday, with an RAF flypast provided by a Spitfire and a Hurricane over his home in Marston Moretaine. Colonel Moore, formerly a Captain, received a promotion in honour of his birthday and in recognition of the funds, in excess of £30m, he raised for the NHS by walking laps of his garden
Capture the Light Photography/Getty
19/50 29 April 2020Britain’s Labour leader Keir Starmer speaks during Prime Minister’s Questions, as members of Parliament observe social distancing due to the coronavirus, in the House of Commons, London, Wednesday, April 29, 2020
UK Parliament/AP
20/50 28 April 2020NHS staff at the Mater hospital in Belfast, during a minute’s silence to pay tribute to the NHS staff and key workers who have died during the coronavirus outbreak
PA
21/50 27 April 2020The sun rises behind redundant oil platforms moored in the Firth of Forth near Kirkcaldy, Fife. Global oil prices have crashed after the coronavirus pandemic reduced demand, with analysts warning that the oil majors may be looking at one of their biggest quarter-on-quarter profitability hits in history.
PA
22/50 26 April 2020Frankie Lynch celebrates on the Mall where the finish of the London Marathon was due to take place today after running 2.6 miles instead of 26 miles to raise money for The Running Charity
Reuters
23/50 25 April 2020A muslim woman walks past balloons outside the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery in London
Reuters
24/50 24 April 2020An empty Brighton Pier, closed during the Coronavirus pandemic as temperatures reach 20 degrees in the South East
Rex
25/50 23 April 2020Farmers work with vehicles to prepare a field next to a field of flowering rapeseed near Pontefract, West Yorkshire
AFP/Getty
26/50 22 April 2020The Northern Lights, the Milky Way and a Lyrid meteor at the Bathing House near Howick, Northumberland, as the Lyrid meteor shower reached its peak
PA
27/50 21 April 2020Badger the Border Collie surrounded by bluebells at Shrawley Wood in Worcestershire
PA
28/50 20 April 2020A dog walker on Blyth beach in Northumberland
PA
29/50 19 April 2020A piece of coronavirus themed street art grafitti in East London
AFP via Getty
30/50 18 April 2020Members of the City Specialist Cleaning team spray disinfectant around posts in the town centre of Eastleigh, Hampshire
PA
31/50 17 April 2020A taped-up bench in the hamlet of Diglea, Greater Manchester
AFP/Getty
32/50 16 April 2020A woman wearing a protective face mask and gloves walks past graffiti in Bow, London
Reuters
33/50 15 April 2020A burned down mobile phone mast in London. According to reports, at least 20 mobile phone masts across Britain are believed to have been vandalised and government and telecom sources are increasingly concerned about the impact of conspiracy theories linking coronavirus to 5G networks
EPA
34/50 14 April 2020The new Nightingale Hospital in Washington, Tyne and Wear, being fitted out
PA
35/50 13 April 2020Walkers enjoy the bluebells in Wanstead Park in London
PA
36/50 12 April 2020A woman prays at the closed doors of Westminster Cathedral ahead of the Easter morning mass in London
PA
37/50 11 April 2020A man jogs on an empty beach in Scarborough as the UK continues in lockdown to help curb the spread of the coronavirus
PA
38/50 10 April 2020Military personnel testing people at a coronavirus test centre in the car park of Chessington World of Adventures
Reuters
39/50 9 April 2020Posters drawn by children displayed in support of the NHS in a building near St Thomas’ Hospital in London
Getty
40/50 8 April 2020A street cleaner in front of Coronavirus messaging on Picadilly Circus in London
Getty
41/50 7 April 2020A jogger on the Millennium Bridge in London, as the UK continues in lockdown to help curb the spread of the coronavirus
PA
42/50 6 April 2020A Royal Signals soldier practices during training held by the British Army. They are preparing them to support the Welsh Ambulance Service NHS Trust in the battle against coronavirus
Ministry of Defence/Reuters
43/50 5 April 2020A police officer advises a woman to go home after spotting her enjoying the sun in Primrose Hill, London
AP
44/50 4 March 2020New Leader of the Labour Party Keir Starmer speaks on the announcement of his victory in the leadership race of the Labour Party
AFP via Getty
45/50 3 April 2020Health Secretary Matt Hancock and NHS staff stand on marks on the ground, put in place to ensure social distancing guidelines are adhered to, at the opening of the NHS Nightingale Hospital at the ExCel centre in London, a temporary hospital with 4000 beds which has been set up for the treatment of Covid-19 patients. PA Photo. Picture date: Friday April 3, 2020. Split into more than 80 wards containing 42 beds each, the facility will be used to treat Covid-19 patients who have been transferred from other intensive care units across London.
PA
46/50 2 April 2020A child at Westlands Primary School paints a poster in support of the NHS in Newcastle-under-Lyme
Reuters
47/50 1 April 2020Staff wearing PPE of gloves and face masks, as a preactionary measure against Covid-19, disinfect an ambulance after it arrived with a patient at St Thomas’ Hospital in north London
AFP via Getty
48/50 31 March 2020Llandudno Pier remains closed and deserted of tourists during the pandemic lockdown in Wales
Getty
49/50 30 March 2020Waves break against the pier at Tynemouth, on the North East coast
PA
50/50 29 March 2020Waves crash over a car on the seafront during windy conditions in Broadstairs, Kent
PA
1/50 17 May 2020People on Brighton beach after the introduction of measures to bring the country out of lockdown
PA
2/50 16 May 2020Police lead away Piers Corbyn, brother of former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, as protesters gather in breach of lockdown rules in Hyde Park in London after the introduction of measures to bring the country out of lockdown.
PA
3/50 15 May 2020Estonian freelance ballet dancer and choreographer, Eve Mutso performs her daily fitness routine near her home in Glasgow, Scotland
Getty
4/50 14 May 2020Senior charge nurse Jan Ferguson views artwork “Theatre of Dott’s” by Kate Ive, inspired by Professor Norman Dott and his neurosurgery theatres at the Western General from 1960-2019. It is one of a number of artworks which sit on the walls of NHS Lothians’ Department of Clinical Neurosciences (DCN) which has been transferred into a purpose-built new home on the Little France campus in Edinburgh
PA
5/50 13 May 2020Team GB’s karate athlete Jordan Thomas trains outside his apartment in Manchester
Reuters
6/50 12 May 2020Nurses from central London hospitals protest on international nurses day about the chronic underfunding of the NHS and other issues surrounding the health service outside the gates of Downing Street, London
PA
7/50 11 May 2020Waves crash at Tynemouth pier on the North East coast
PA
8/50 10 May 2020A woman passes street art and a poster in East London
Reuters
9/50 9 May 2020Police patrol the beach in Brighton
Getty
10/50 8 May 2020The British Royal Air Force Red Arrows conduct a fly past over the statue of former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill in London to commemorate the 75th Anniversary of Victory in Europe (VE Day) in Britain
MOD/Reuters
11/50 7 May 2020Team GB sailor Eilidh McIntyre during a training session at her home in Portsmouth
Reuters
12/50 6 May 2020Labour Party leader Keir Starmer listens to Prime Minister Boris Johnson speaking during PMQs
UK Parliament/AFP/Getty
13/50 5 May 2020The sun appears to explode over the horizon in this montage of images captured by photographer Nick Lucas near his home in Ringwood, Hampshire. Nick took a number of pictures just a few seconds apart on a tripod mounted camera which were then combined to give the eye catching dawn image
Nick Lucas/SWNS
14/50 4 May 2020Leeds Green Watch firefighters observe a minute’s silence outside the fire station in Kirkstall Rd, in memory their colleagues that lost their lives in the line of duty
PA
15/50 3 May 2020Staff at The Berkeley hotel give food to ambulance workers
Reuters
16/50 2 May 2020One of a small group of anti-lockdown protesters speaks to a police officer as they gather outside New Scotland Yard in Victoria, London
AFP via Getty
17/50 1 May 2020Bonnie the Llama grazes in a field in the Scottish Borders alongside a sign supporting the NHS as the UK continues in lockdown
PA
18/50 30 April 2020Colonel Tom Moore and his daughter Hannah celebrate his 100th birthday, with an RAF flypast provided by a Spitfire and a Hurricane over his home in Marston Moretaine. Colonel Moore, formerly a Captain, received a promotion in honour of his birthday and in recognition of the funds, in excess of £30m, he raised for the NHS by walking laps of his garden
Capture the Light Photography/Getty
19/50 29 April 2020Britain’s Labour leader Keir Starmer speaks during Prime Minister’s Questions, as members of Parliament observe social distancing due to the coronavirus, in the House of Commons, London, Wednesday, April 29, 2020
UK Parliament/AP
20/50 28 April 2020NHS staff at the Mater hospital in Belfast, during a minute’s silence to pay tribute to the NHS staff and key workers who have died during the coronavirus outbreak
PA
21/50 27 April 2020The sun rises behind redundant oil platforms moored in the Firth of Forth near Kirkcaldy, Fife. Global oil prices have crashed after the coronavirus pandemic reduced demand, with analysts warning that the oil majors may be looking at one of their biggest quarter-on-quarter profitability hits in history.
PA
22/50 26 April 2020Frankie Lynch celebrates on the Mall where the finish of the London Marathon was due to take place today after running 2.6 miles instead of 26 miles to raise money for The Running Charity
Reuters
23/50 25 April 2020A muslim woman walks past balloons outside the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery in London
Reuters
24/50 24 April 2020An empty Brighton Pier, closed during the Coronavirus pandemic as temperatures reach 20 degrees in the South East
Rex
25/50 23 April 2020Farmers work with vehicles to prepare a field next to a field of flowering rapeseed near Pontefract, West Yorkshire
AFP/Getty
26/50 22 April 2020The Northern Lights, the Milky Way and a Lyrid meteor at the Bathing House near Howick, Northumberland, as the Lyrid meteor shower reached its peak
PA
27/50 21 April 2020Badger the Border Collie surrounded by bluebells at Shrawley Wood in Worcestershire
PA
28/50 20 April 2020A dog walker on Blyth beach in Northumberland
PA
29/50 19 April 2020A piece of coronavirus themed street art grafitti in East London
AFP via Getty
30/50 18 April 2020Members of the City Specialist Cleaning team spray disinfectant around posts in the town centre of Eastleigh, Hampshire
PA
31/50 17 April 2020A taped-up bench in the hamlet of Diglea, Greater Manchester
AFP/Getty
32/50 16 April 2020A woman wearing a protective face mask and gloves walks past graffiti in Bow, London
Reuters
33/50 15 April 2020A burned down mobile phone mast in London. According to reports, at least 20 mobile phone masts across Britain are believed to have been vandalised and government and telecom sources are increasingly concerned about the impact of conspiracy theories linking coronavirus to 5G networks
EPA
34/50 14 April 2020The new Nightingale Hospital in Washington, Tyne and Wear, being fitted out
PA
35/50 13 April 2020Walkers enjoy the bluebells in Wanstead Park in London
PA
36/50 12 April 2020A woman prays at the closed doors of Westminster Cathedral ahead of the Easter morning mass in London
PA
37/50 11 April 2020A man jogs on an empty beach in Scarborough as the UK continues in lockdown to help curb the spread of the coronavirus
PA
38/50 10 April 2020Military personnel testing people at a coronavirus test centre in the car park of Chessington World of Adventures
Reuters
39/50 9 April 2020Posters drawn by children displayed in support of the NHS in a building near St Thomas’ Hospital in London
Getty
40/50 8 April 2020A street cleaner in front of Coronavirus messaging on Picadilly Circus in London
Getty
41/50 7 April 2020A jogger on the Millennium Bridge in London, as the UK continues in lockdown to help curb the spread of the coronavirus
PA
42/50 6 April 2020A Royal Signals soldier practices during training held by the British Army. They are preparing them to support the Welsh Ambulance Service NHS Trust in the battle against coronavirus
Ministry of Defence/Reuters
43/50 5 April 2020A police officer advises a woman to go home after spotting her enjoying the sun in Primrose Hill, London
AP
44/50 4 March 2020New Leader of the Labour Party Keir Starmer speaks on the announcement of his victory in the leadership race of the Labour Party
AFP via Getty
45/50 3 April 2020Health Secretary Matt Hancock and NHS staff stand on marks on the ground, put in place to ensure social distancing guidelines are adhered to, at the opening of the NHS Nightingale Hospital at the ExCel centre in London, a temporary hospital with 4000 beds which has been set up for the treatment of Covid-19 patients. PA Photo. Picture date: Friday April 3, 2020. Split into more than 80 wards containing 42 beds each, the facility will be used to treat Covid-19 patients who have been transferred from other intensive care units across London.
PA
46/50 2 April 2020A child at Westlands Primary School paints a poster in support of the NHS in Newcastle-under-Lyme
Reuters
47/50 1 April 2020Staff wearing PPE of gloves and face masks, as a preactionary measure against Covid-19, disinfect an ambulance after it arrived with a patient at St Thomas’ Hospital in north London
AFP via Getty
48/50 31 March 2020Llandudno Pier remains closed and deserted of tourists during the pandemic lockdown in Wales
Getty
49/50 30 March 2020Waves break against the pier at Tynemouth, on the North East coast
PA
50/50 29 March 2020Waves crash over a car on the seafront during windy conditions in Broadstairs, Kent
PA
“Protecting workers now requires us looking past emergency measures to a recovery plan. Coronavirus has put society in an X-ray machine to reveal its structural weakness and is now magnifying existing inequalities.
“It is up to the Chancellor to seize this opportunity, to build a bridge from the furlough scheme and unemployment benefits to green jobs and a fairer society.”
The Survation survey found that 49 per cent of respondents said they were currently claiming benefits entirely or partly due to the coronavirus outbreak.
Around half (51 per cent) said their hours had reduced because of lockdown, 23 per cent said they had had trouble feeding their families and 26 per cent difficulty paying rent or mortgage.
Survation interviewed 2,026 British adults between 22 and 25 April.
Source: UK Politics - www.independent.co.uk