News brief - 17/04/20 View this email in your browser
Unions call on govt and employers to do more to protect workers from Covid-19
Unions are piling the pressure on the government to step up its response to the Coronavirus in a bid to prevent workers from catching or spreading the disease, or falling into poverty.
GMB has written to Chancellor Rishi Sunak to demand an amendment to the Job Retention Scheme to prevent workers from being paid less than the minimum wage. Currently, they are eligible for the lower of 80% of their wages or £2,500 a month. Key workers employed by local government agencies are also being represented by unions calling for a fair pay offer this year in recognition of the significant risks taken by those such as refuse collectors, teaching assistants and street cleaners who have continued to work through the pandemic. Unison, Unite and the GMB have jointly called on the Local Government Association to join forces with workers' representatives to lobby Ministers for additional funding.
Meanwhile, the health risks workers are facing are a major concern to unions across the country, especially after Westminster's lack of action to enforce social distancing at work stood in stark comparison to the Welsh Assembly's quick passage of a new law that required employers to ensure workers were able to conduct their duties two metres apart from each other.
While the TUC was joined by both the CBI and HSE in an unprecedented joint statement warning employers to abide by social distancing and other health and safety rules, employers and unions also came together in the social care sector to make a worrying statement about the impact of a lack of PPE and testing for service users and staff.
Covid-19 patients are being rapidly discharged from hospitals into care homes to free-up NHS beds, but because care workers are facing a significant shortage of protective equipment, care homes are not set-up to contain the virus. As a result, unions and employers warned that the spread of the virus is likely to be much worse than feared and, worst of all, it is directly impacting a population of vulnerable and elderly service users who are the most at risk of dying from the disease.
Read the full report
All in it together? The reality is sadly different It’s the poor who will suffer the most
Lord John Hendy QC and Professor Keith Ewing warn that the impact of Coronavirus is not equal across society, as once again the poorest shoulder the heaviest burden.
Read the full report
IER and Covid-19
Due to the rapid spread of the coronavirus disease and the need to keep our staff, supporters and speakers safe, IER have decided to postpone all forthcoming IER events and meetings until further notice, including both Health and safety at work after Brexit conferences in Liverpool and London, the IER Executive Committee, IER AGM and our joint event with the Campaign for Trade Union Freedom on 6th June.
IER staff will continue to work, but remotely from home. We will answer emails, produce publications and circulate our weekly News Briefs and other on-line information. However, phone calls to the office or mail sent by post will not receive immediate attention.
We apologise for any inconvenience caused and wish you all best wishes during this difficult time.
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