Unite calls for fresh Thomas Cook inquiry

ITV has reported that the trade union representing Cook’s airline staff has asked prime minister Boris Johnson’s government to start a new investigation into why the long-standing tour operator failed.

It says only 20% of former Cook employees it represented have managed to find a new job elsewhere and many have been forced to take a pay cut.

Unite says there should be an inquiry into how the Department for Transport handled the crisis.

"A profitable airline was allowed to collapse into liquidation and then the workers who have paid taxes all their working lives have had to deal with the complex procedures to get what they are owed and have even been blocked from claiming the benefits they are entitled to," said Diana Holland, Unite’s assistant general secretary.

"Even the minority of workers who have secured permanent full-time work are being paid far less than previously, and working hours that don’t fit as well with their family lives."