by our parliamentary reporter @TrinderMatt

TORY ministers have “no plan” to protect workers over winter, the TUC warned today, as cuts to universal credit (UC) and the end of the furlough scheme exacerbate the cost of living crisis.

The Covid-19 job support scheme is due to start winding down from tomorrow, while the £20-a-week uplift to UC, introduced early in the crisis, will be withdrawn from October 6.

Six million people depend on the benefit to help make ends meet, with about 40 per cent of claimants already in work.  

The cuts to financial support come at a time of raising inflation in energy bills, as thousands of customers are forced to switch to alternative providers with potentially higher tariffs after private energy firms go bust due to soaring wholesale gas prices.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson is also set to raise National Insurance contributions — supposedly to support the NHS and overhaul social care — a move which experts warn will hit poorer working people harder.

TUC general secretary Frances O’Grady said: “The cost of living is rising fast, but ministers are determined to cut vital universal credit support. They must cancel the cut to help keep families warm and fed through the winter ahead.

“Ministers should rethink the end of furlough. Many workers in hard hit industries are still furloughed and need support for longer. Otherwise, we may see a rise in unemployment.”

The union confederation called on ministers to establish a permanent short-time working scheme to help protect people from economic shocks during the Covid-19 pandemic – especially in hard-hit industries.

Such a scheme would also protect jobs through the transition to a net-zero economy, the TUC stressed.

Concerns were also raised today about the number of workers over the age of 50 who are still furloughed, despite the scheme’s imminent abolition.

More than 540,000 people in the age group were furloughed at the end of July — 35 per cent of the total — according to Rest Less research.

The older people advisory group said the pandemic has “devastated” the job market for over 50s.

Reacting to the data, the Centre for Ageing Better’s Emily Andrews demanded a new “intensive programme of support for older workers to get back into work, including support to retrain and reskill.”