(time limit 30 minutes)
Motion 1
Councillor Shah to MOVE and Councillor Surjan to SECOND:
Recover, Retrain, Rebuild
The Council notes that the Chancellor has announced a patchwork of schemes to provide support to jobs and companies which have been affected by coronavirus restrictions and has rushed out changes to previous measures as it has become apparent that infection rates continue to rise and more and more areas will be enter Tiers 2 and 3 .
The Council believes that while the Job Retention Scheme was a historic investment of taxpayers' money to avert widespread job losses, this massive, unprecedented investment will, essentially, go to waste as millions of people, including thousands in the Borough of Oldham, who have suffered throughout the Covid-19 crisis, now face the very real prospect of unemployment as their jobs are not viable to return to at this moment in time under Covid-19.
While this Council acknowledges that support to Tier 2 jobs and businesses has been backdated to areas including Oldham which have been under restrictions since July 2020, it regrets that support will have come too late to save some otherwise viable jobs and businesses.
This Council believes we need a strategy that focuses on recovering jobs, retraining workers and rebuilding our country. This strategy must involve:
1) A job Recovery Scheme that allows staff to work reduced hours, with the Government subsidising a proportion of wages for the rest of the week. The scheme should be designed to reward companies who bring back more workers part-time, rather than bringing some back full-time and letting others go.
2) A nationwide Retraining Strategy for the unemployed and those facing unemployment. This strategy must help those whose hours have been cut to increase their skills to retrain and enable people who have lost jobs to transition into new work.
3) A business Rebuilding Scheme which must give businesses, who have taken advantage of Government loan schemes, the payments for which start in March, the confidence and security that they will be able to continue operating past March 2021, or else a whole new set of businesses and workers may well be pushed back underneath then.
The Council therefore resolves to instruct the Chief Executive to write to the Prime Minister and the Chancellor of the Exchequer to revisit their scheme, work with business and trade unions and create one that will help our towns, borough and country recover, retrain and rebuild.
Motion 2
Councillor Ball to MOVE and Councillor Hulme to SECOND:
Remembrance Sunday will be the 8th November 2020.
The Royal British Legion, supported by the Council, traditionally organises commemoration events at the Oldham War memorial and at 6 other locations across the borough. It is with great regret that this Council notes that it will not be possible in 2020 to hold the public services which have been well attended for many years.
The Council has worked with the Royal British Legion, the police and faith groups to decide how to pay our respects on Remembrance Sunday.
Arrangements have been made to stream a pre-recorded Covid secure wreath laying ceremony from each of these locations on the Council website and an invitation only service from the Oldham Parish Church will also be live streamed on Remembrance Sunday (this may change if further restrictions are imposed).
Organisations and individuals will be able to lay their own wreaths privately between the 8th and 11th November and are asked to ensure that Covid guidelines are followed.
This Council resolves
Minutes:
Motion 1 – Recover, Retrain, Rebuild
Councillor Shah MOVED and Councillor Surjan SECONDED the following MOTION:
“The Council notes that the Chancellor has announced a patchwork of schemes to provide support to jobs and companies which have been affected by coronavirus restrictions and has rushed out changes to previous measures as it has become apparent that infection rates continue to rise and more and more areas will be enter Tiers 2 and 3.
The Council believes that while the Job Retention Scheme was a historic investment of taxpayers’ money to avert widespread job losses, unprecedented investment will, essentially, go to waste as millions of people, including thousands in the Borough of Oldham, who have suffered throughout the Covid-19 crisis, now face the very real prospect of unemployment as their jobs are not viable to return to at this moment in time under Covid-19.
While this Council acknowledges that support to Tier 2 jobs and businesses has been backdated to areas including Oldham which have been under restrictions since July 2020, it regrets that support will have come too late to save some otherwise viable jobs and businesses.
This Council believes we need a strategy that focuses on recovering jobs, retraining workers and rebuilding our country. This strategy must involve:
1) A Job Recovery Scheme that allows staff to work reduced hours, with the Government subsidising a proportion of wages for the rest of the week. The scheme should be designed to reward companies who bring back more workers part-time, rather than bringing some back full-time and letting others go.
2) A nationwide Retraining Strategy for the unemployed and those facing unemployment. This strategy must help those whose hours have been cut to increase their skills to retrain and enable people who have lost jobs to transition to new work.
3) A business Rebuilding Scheme which must give businesses, who have taken advantage of Government loan schemes, the payments for which start in March, the confidence and security that they will be able to continue operating past March 2021, or else a whole new set of businesses and workers may well be pushed back underneath then.
The Council therefore resolves to instruct the Chief Executive to write to the Prime Minister and the Chancellor of the Exchequer to revisit their scheme, work with business and trade unions and create one that will help our towns, borough and country recover, retrain and rebuild.”
Councillor C. Gloster spoke in support of the Motion.
Councillor Roberts spoke in support of the Motion.
Councillor Al-Hamdani spoke in support of the motion.
Councillor Shah exercised her right of reply.
On being put to the vote, 50 votes were cast in FAVOUR of the MOTION and 0 votes were cast AGAINST with 1 ABSTENTION. The MOTION was therefore CARRIED.
RESOLVED that the Chief Executive be instructed to write to the Prime Minister and the Chancellor of the Exchequer to revisit their scheme, work with business and trade unions and create one that will help with our towns, borough and country recover, retrain and rebuild.
Motion 2 – Remembrance Sunday will be the 8th November 2020
Councillor Ball MOVED and Councillor Hulme SECONDED the following MOTION:
“The Royal British Legion, supported by the Council, traditionally organises commemoration events at the Oldham War memorial and at 6 other locations across the borough. It is with great regret that this notes that it will not be possible in 2020 to hold the public services which have been well attended for many years.
The Council has worked with the Royal British Legion, the police and faith groups to decide how to pay our respects on Remembrance Sunday.
Arrangements have been made to stream a pre-recorded Covid secure wreath laying ceremony from each of these locations on the Council website and an invitation only service from the Oldham Parish Church will also be live-streamed on Remembrance Sunday (this may change if further restrictions are imposed).
Organisations and individuals will be able to lay their own wreaths privately between the 8th and 11th November and are asked to ensure that Covid guidelines are followed.
This Council resolves:
1. To ask residents to show their respects at home by following the streaming on the Council’s website and to encourage residents to stand on their doorstep on Sunday 8 November and Armistice Day at 11 am in remembrance and to place poppy posters in windows similar to NHS thank you.
2. To ask those who can, to make a donation to the Royal British Legion as it is likely their income from poppy and wreath sales will be much reduced this year.”
Councillor Sykes spoke on the Motion.
Councillor Byrne spoke in support of the Motion.
Councillor Hudson spoke in support of the Motion.
Councillor Ball exercised her right of reply.
On being put to the vote, the MOTION was CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.
RESOLVED that:
1. Residents be asked to show their respects at home by following the streaming on the Council’s website and to encourage residents to stand on their doorstep on Sunday 8 November and Armistice Day at 11am in remembrance and to place poppy posters in windows similar to NHS thank you.
2. To those who could, be asked to make a donation to the Royal British Legion as it was likely that their income from poppy and wreath sales would be much reduced this year.
NOTE: Councillor F. Hussain left the meeting during this item.