A UNION representing sacked Cineworld staff hit out at a lack of communication from the cinema chain.

Phillipa Childs is head of creative industries union Bectu. She said: "Despite our best attempts, Cineworld have not had any meaningful discussions with us and following their communication with staff, we have no choice but to call the situation for what it is - a calculated attack on its workforce to cut them off from furlough two weeks before the scheme ends.

"We are yet to receive an explanation as to why they aren't taking advantage of the job support scheme to keep their workforce in jobs over the next six months or consulting with their staff about redundancies"

"The government has not budged on extending the furlough scheme despite much lobbying from unions and politicians - so Cineworld, who enjoy the biggest market share, writing to Boris Johnson asking to be bailed out as a special case is nothing more than an attempt to deflect from their responsibilities to their employees.

"Cinema chains should be thinking creatively about how to attract people back into screens - not resorting to shorter hours and job cuts that will leave the industry on its knees for even longer.

"We will continue our work to ensure that Cineworld fulfils its legal requirements to staff."