The TUC and Covid Bereaved Families for Justice have today – on Workers’ Memorial Day – called for the public inquiry into Coronavirus to focus on what could have been done to prevent worker deaths.
Campaigners say as parliament grapples with the partygate scandal it is now more crucial than ever that the government shows integrity and transparency over the inquiry process.
The TUC and Covid Bereaved Families for Justice said that alongside scrutinising the quality of decision-making across the pandemic response in government, the public inquiry must specifically look at:
- The management, inspection and enforcement of safety in workplaces, including the role of government guidance, regulatory and enforcement bodies, employers and unions
- The impact of the pandemic in different sectors, including health and social care but also education, transport, and manufacturing including food and textiles and retail
- The reasons for the disproportionate impact of the pandemic on BME and disabled people
- A comparison of the different approaches across all nations of the UK.
The TUC and Covid Bereaved Families for Justice say that the voices of key workers and the families of those who contracted the virus at work will be central to understanding what went wrong and learning lessons for the future.
More than 15,000 people of working age died in the pandemic. Many of those were key workers in high-risk workplaces in sectors such as health, social care, transport, food processing and textiles. BME workers were particularly hard hit, with BME men 57% more likely to be working in jobs with a higher mortality rate, and BME women 48% more likely.
'Far too many were exposed to the virus at work - and lost their lives as a consequence,' said TUC general secretary Frances O’Grady. 'Now the government owes it to them, and to their families, to make sure the public inquiry investigates what should have been done to keep everyone safe at work.
'As party-gate dominates the headlines it is crucial that the government shows transparency and integrity in its approach to the inquiry. Bereaved families deserve answers.
'On International Workers’ Memorial Day, we remember those who have died due to work, and pledge to fight for safe workplaces for everyone.'
Spokesperson for Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice Hannah Brady said: ‘My dad tragically passed away from Covid-19 in May 2020. He was just 55 years old, lived an active life and had no underlying health conditions. He was proud to work at the Kraft Heinz factory, keeping the UK fed, but that meant that like tens of thousands of key workers around the country, he did not have the option of staying home during lockdown.
‘People have said to us that he knew the risks. But when he signed up for his job 34 years ago, he didn’t foresee the pandemic. Key workers were at the mercy of the virus in jobs where they had to work. The government’s failure to protect them must be at the heart of the inquiry.’
Every year on 28 April, people around the world unite to remember those who have died in the course of their work. This year, trade unionists will commemorate the large numbers of workers who’ve lost their lives to Covid, while also remembering those who have died from other causes.
