Unions have condemned the government’s support for apprentices caught up in the collapse of construction giant Carillion as “simply not good enough”, after it was revealed they will not be paid from later this week.
Skills minister Anne Milton said that apprentices would only be paid until the end of January. In a response to a written question from the Labour frontbencher, Milton added: “Once alternative employment has been secured, it will be the responsibility of these individual employers to determine the frequency of payments to their apprentices.”
Shadow education secretary Angela Rayner said the government was back peddling on a “promise” last week to help those affected.
‘Inadequate and inept’
National officer of the GMB union Rehana Azam said the government’s response to the Carillion crisis was “inadequate and inept”, adding: “These are young people starting out in their careers and they have no idea if they will have apprenticeships this time next week.
“It’s simply not good enough - the government has a duty of care to these people. They should give a guarantee these people gain the skills to become Britain’s future workforce.”
Ms Rayner pointed out that ministers last week promised apprentices caught up in the collapse would be taken back “in-house”.
She added: “They cannot now just stand by and allow thousands of apprentices who have done nothing but work hard for their qualifications to be abandoned, without pay, work or continued training.
“Only months after the collapse of LearnDirect highlighted the risks of over-reliance on private companies for the provision of adult training, it’s high time the Tory government started learning the lessons of their previous failures.”
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