TUC chief calls for fairer society

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Brendan Barber said 2009 had to mark a "decisive turning point" towards a more balanced economy delivering sustainable prosperity.

In his New Year message, Mr Barber said it would be a "grim year", with unemployment set to rise every month, making it more difficult for disabled workers and parents of young children to find work.

Ministers should make it a top priority to make the recession as short as possible and develop a proper policy response to mass unemployment, said the TUC general secretary.

But he added that, as well as making sure mistakes that led to the financial collapse are not repeated, the Government should make sure the UK emerges from recession with a fairer, greener and more sustainable economy.

"The Government must be prepared to take further bold action to counter the recession and to save jobs.

"The roots of this recession lie in the failure of the finance and banking sectors, and while the Government deserves praise for setting the international pace on the bail-out of banks, we do not yet have a banking system that is truly serving the interests of business or household borrowers.

"Banks are putting building up their own balance sheets and paying back Government loans as their top priorities. But they also still hold high levels of toxic debts which prevent them from dealing with other banks in a normal way.

"The Government and the Bank of England must therefore consider injecting even more support into the financial system to get credit flowing again."

Mr Barber said the Government could not be expected to come to the aid of every company facing difficulties but he argued that short-term assistance should be given to firms in sectors vital to the future of Britain.