UNIONS warned Chancellor Rishi Sunak toay not to leave low-paid workers struggling on less than the minimum wage after he extended the furlough scheme to March next year.

They called on the government to increase its 80 per cent contribution to workers’ wages to 100 per cent, so that those on minimum wage get their full pay if their bosses do not top up their wages.

Two million low-paid workers who were furloughed under the coronavirus Job Retention Scheme were surviving on less than the minimum wage of £8.72 an hour for people aged at least 25, analysis from the Office for National Statistics revealed this week.

TUC general secretary Frances O’Grady said: “Agreeing to extend the Job Retention Scheme at 80 per cent until the spring, as unions have called for, is a positive step.

“But there are still gaps in the government’s support package. 

“It’s not right to ask millions of low-paid workers on furlough to survive on less than the minimum wage. The Chancellor must fix the scheme so their pay is topped up to 100 per cent.

“And he must offer to help to those self-employed workers who are falling between the cracks. 

“We also need an urgent boost to both sick pay and universal credit. No-one should be plunged into financial hardship if they have to self-isolate or if they lose their job.” 

Shopworkers’ trade union Usdaw said that it was “disappointed” to hear that Mr Sunak did not go further to support the lowest-paid workers as England went into its second lockdown.

Retail workers are among those worst-hit by the lockdown that started on Thursday which is initially expected to last a month, with non-essential shops being forced to close.

General secretary Paddy Lillis said: “It is crucial that low-paid workers do not pay the price of fighting this appalling pandemic.

“It cannot be right that our lowest paid are plunged into poverty when we should all be working together to overcome this crisis.”

He also called for “significant reform” of universal credit and confirmation from government that there will not be a removal of the £20 per week increase to benefits in April.

Self-employed workers, such as freelancers and those in creative industries, have reiterated their concern over millions of people being excluded from the Self-employed Income Support Scheme (SEISS), which the government has also said will be extended.

Head of entertainment union Bectu Philippa Childs said the extension “will not help the thousands of theatre, cinema and live events workers who have already been made redundant.”

She added: “Nor will it help the three million self-employed and freelance workers, including thousands of Bectu members, who have been excluded from government support since March due to the limitations of SEISS.

“The Chancellor must urgently address these gaping holes in support.”

Meanwhile, the Bank of England announced a further £150 billion of support for the economy and that interest rates will be kept at a record low of 0.1 per cent.