Tag: TUC

Tackling Inequality: Fight for Fairness … or False Choice?

The Minister for Women and Equalities, Liz Truss, has set out the UK Government’s new approach to tackling inequality across the UK:

No matter your skin colour, sexuality, religion or anything else, the United Kingdom is one of the best places in the world to live.

The British story has been driven from its earliest days by the desire for liberty, agency, and fairness.

It is the notion that in Britain you will have the opportunity to succeed at whatever you wish to do professionally, that you can be whoever you want to be. Dress however you want to dress. Love whoever you wish to love and achieve your dreams.

But we must be honest. Our story is not yet complete. Our equality journey is not yet finished.

For too many people, particularly in places beyond the South East, opportunity is diminished.

For years, successive governments have either pretended that all opportunity was equal or failed to come up with proper solutions, paying lip service to a problem that has festered for decades.

It was this government that finally tore down this social taboo when we were elected to level-up the country and toppled the Red Wall turning it Blue.

We were elected partly on the promise of fixing the scourge of geographic inequality, and ensuring equal opportunity for all. There are still too many cases where your destination in life is decided by where you started it. So today, I am outlining a new approach to equality in this country.

This will be founded firmly on Conservative values.

It will be about individual dignity and humanity, not quotas and targets, or equality of outcome.

It will reject the approach taken by the Left, captured as they are by identity politics and loud lobby groups.

It will focus fiercely on fixing geographic inequality, addressing the real problems people face in their everyday lives using evidence and data.

If you were born in Wolverhampton or Darlington, you have been under-served by successive governments. No more.

Things must change and things will change.

This new approach to equality will run through the DNA of this government.

The moral and practical case for equality

For me, it is a moral and practical mission.

Just as our forebears fought for change, we must fight for change again – challenging what is unfair and unjust today.

It is not right that having a particular surname or accent can sometimes make it harder to get a job.

It is appalling that pregnant women suffer discrimination at work. Or that women may be encouraged to dress in a certain way to get ahead.

Or that some employers overlook the capabilities of people with disabilities.

It is outrageous in the 21st century that LGBT people still face harassment in public spaces.

As well as being a moral problem, it is shameful we are squandering so much talent.

  • If women opened businesses at the same rate as men – we could add £250bn to the economy.
  • If people of every ethnic group were fully represented across the labour market, that would mean an extra £24 billion of income a year.
  • If businesses were fully accessible for disabled consumers, they could benefit from an estimated £274 billion a year in spending power.

We can ill afford to waste this potential as we recover from Covid and build back better.

Equality rooted in Conservative values

Our new approach to equality will be based on the core principles of freedom, choice, opportunity, and individual humanity and dignity.

We will move well beyond the narrow focus of protected characteristics and deliver real change that benefits people across our United Kingdom.

We will do this in three ways.

First, by delivering fairness through modernisation, increased choice and openness.

Second, by concentrating on data and research, rather than on campaigning and listening to those with the loudest voices.

And third, by taking our biggest and broadest look yet at the challenges we face, including the all too neglected scourge of geographic inequality.

Now is the time to root the equality debate in the real concerns people face, like affording a home, getting to work, going out safely at night, ending discrimination in our offices, factories and shop floors, and improving our schools so every child has a good chance in life.

It is our duty to deliver, because if right-thinking people do not lead the fight for fairness, then it will be led by those whose ideas don’t work.

The failed ideas of the Left

The ideas that have dominated the equality debate have been long in the making.

As a comprehensive school student in Leeds in the 1980s, I was struck by the lip service that was paid to equality by the City Council while children from disadvantaged backgrounds were let down.

While we were taught about racism and sexism, there was too little time spent making sure everyone could read and write.

These ideas have their roots in post-modernist philosophy – pioneered by Foucault – that put societal power structures and labels ahead of individuals and their endeavours.

In this school of thought, there is no space for evidence, as there is no objective view – truth and morality are all relative.

Rather than promote policies that would have been a game-changer for the disenfranchised like better education and business opportunities, there was a preference for symbolic gestures.

Even now, authorities rush to embrace symbols – for example, Birmingham City Council naming new streets “Diversity Grove” and “Equality Road” – as if that counts as real change.

Underlying this is the soft bigotry of low expectations, where people from certain backgrounds are not expected to reach high standards.

This diminishes their individual humanity, dignity and agency.

And it hasn’t delivered the progress it promised.

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In addition, this focus on groups at the expense of individuals has led to harmful unintended consequences.

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Study after study has shown that unconscious bias training does not improve equality, and in fact can backfire by reinforcing stereotypes and exacerbating biases.

That’s why this week we announced we will no longer be using it in government or civil service.

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By contrast, the Conservative Party has elected two female leaders, and has a Cabinet with the highest ever level of ethnic minority representation.

We have done this not by positively discriminating, but by positively empowering people who want to go into politics and opening up our Party to people of all backgrounds. Because when you choose on the basis of protected characteristics, you end up excluding other people.

1. Fairness, not favouritism

Fairness, not favouritism, drives our approach to equality.

Too often, the equality debate has been dominated by a small number of unrepresentative voices, and by those who believe people are defined by their protected characteristic, and not by their individual character.

This school of thought says that if you are not from an ‘oppressed group’ then you are not entitled to an opinion, and that this debate is not for you.

I wholeheartedly reject this approach.

Equality is something everybody in the United Kingdom should care about and something all of us have a stake in.

So, I am calling time on “pink bus” feminism, where women are left to fix sexism and campaign for childcare.

Rather than virtue signalling, or campaigning, this government is focused on delivering a fairer and more transparent society that works for all and that delivers genuine equality of opportunity.

The work of American academic Iris Bohnet shows that modernising and making organisations more transparent is the best way to tackle inequality.

When things are opaque, it benefits those who know how to game the system.

We know that when companies publish their wage ranges, it leads to more equal starting points for men and women.

We know that automatic promotions based on performance help level up opportunities for women in the workplace, overcoming the barriers that make women less likely to put themselves forward for promotion.

And we know that evidence-driven recruitment in a clear and open structure is more effective than using informal and ad hoc networks.

On the other hand, techniques like unconscious bias training, quotas and diversity statements do nothing to make the workplace fundamentally fairer.

By driving reforms that increase competition, boost transparency and improve choice, we can open up opportunities.

This is the approach we will be taking across government.

It is fundamentally important that the role of equality minister is held by someone who also has another cabinet job, as I do with trade.

This ensures equality is not siloed, but is instead the responsibility of the whole government and all our elected representatives.

For example, the Academies Act 2010 meant good free schools were established across England and more children had the opportunity of a great education. The 1980 Housing Act empowered over two million people to get on the housing ladder, and the independent taxation of women in 1988 gave wives control of their own money.

All of these reforms promoted equality by giving people greater agency over their own lives and making systems more transparent.

For example, we know that students from poorer backgrounds are more likely to achieve better grades than they were predicted, and they lose out in the current university admissions system which is based on predicted grades.

That is why Gavin Williamson is right to base the university admissions system on the actual grades students achieve, making sure that students from lower income backgrounds have a fairer shot at university.

In the workplace, we know that flexible working improves productivity and helps people to combine work with other responsibilities.

That is why I will be working with Alok Sharma, the Business Secretary, to enable more flexible working – not just as a necessity amid the Covid crisis but to empower employees.

The best way to reduce unfairness in our society is through opening up opportunities for all.

This is the level playing field we should be talking about.

And we are going to make sure that this level playing field is properly enforced.

That is why I am appointing a new chair and a wide variety of commissioners to the Equality and Human Rights Commission to drive this agenda forward.

I am proud we have Baroness Kishwer Falkner, David Goodhart, Jessica Butcher, Su-Mei Thompson and Lord Ribeiro, all of whom are committed to equality and ready to challenge dangerous groupthink.

Under this new leadership, the EHRC will focus on enforcing fair treatment for all, rather than freelance campaigning.

2. Facts, not fiction

To make our society more equal, we need the equality debate to be led by facts not by fashion.

Time and time again, we see politicians making their own evidence-free judgements.

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My superb colleague Kemi Badenoch is leading work on the Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities, established by the Prime Minister.

We should heed the warning from its chair, Dr Tony Sewell, who wrote last month that they have uncovered “a perception of racism that is often not supported by evidence” and that “wrong perceptions sow mistrust”.

This does not mean we don’t recognise people’s stories about their individual lives or believe that their experiences of discrimination are not real. It means that we can and must have an equality agenda that is driven by evidence.

Today I am announcing that the Equality Hub will embark on the Government’s biggest, broadest and most comprehensive equality data project yet, and it will closely coordinate with the work of CRED (Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities).

Over the coming months, we will look across the UK to identify where people are held back and what the biggest barriers are.

We will not limit our fight for fairness to the nine protected characteristics laid out in the 2010 Equality Act, which include sex, race and gender reassignment.

While it is true people in these groups suffer discrimination, the focus on protected characteristics has led to a narrowing of the equality debate that overlooks socio-economic status and geographic inequality.

This means some issues – particularly those facing white working-class children – are neglected.

This project will broaden the drive for equality and get to the heart of the barriers people face. It will report its initial findings in the Summer.

In addition to race, sex, disability and religion, it will also look at issues around geography, community and socio-economic background.

It will deliver a new life-path analysis of equality from the perspective of the individual, not groups. Using longitudinal data sets will help us understand where the real problems lie.

3. Geographic Inequality

There is a deeper wage gap between London and the regions than between men and women, with an average full-time salary a third higher in the capital than the North East of England.

There are lower employment rates, pay packets and life expectancy across the North than the South. At the same time, average median hourly earnings in the South West are only just over two thirds of those in London.

That is why the equality agenda must be prosecuted with fierce determination and clarity of purpose up and down the country, not just in London boardrooms and Whitehall offices.

Whether that is making the case for free schools in deprived areas or using data to help regional businesses attract investment.

We will use the power of evidence to drive reform and give people access to the facts so they can push for change.

We will drive this action from the North of England, where we will be moving the Equality Hub.

And I am delighted to announce that we are also taking on sponsorship of the Social Mobility Commission, to give this agenda real teeth and coherence.

The whole of government will be – and is – totally committed to this agenda. The Treasury is revising its Green Book so that it judges infrastructure investment fairly across the UK, no longer seeing – for example – faster broadband as a better investment in Surrey than South Lanarkshire.

The Department for Education is going to extra lengths to create academies and free schools outside London. And in housing, we are working to increase opportunities for home ownership across the country.

This is just the start. There is much more we will be doing to make our country fairer and give people agency over their own lives.

This is not limited to the UK

This fight for fairness goes beyond our shores.

Next year, the United Kingdom will use its presidency of the G7 to ramp up its work worldwide with like-minded allies to champion freedom, human rights and the equality of opportunity.

The UK is co-leading the new global Generation Equality Action Coalition on Gender Based Violence, and co-chairing the Equal Rights Coalition.

In that role, we will be holding our International LGBT conference, on the theme of Safe to Be Me.

We are working internationally to bring an end to child marriage and are supporting international programmes to end the abhorrent practice of Female Genital Mutilation.

We need to make progress across the world and at home as a fairer world and a fairer Britain go hand in hand.

Taking the right approach to deliver real change

At this vital time in our country’s history, we must make sure everyone has a chance to succeed in modern Britain.

That is why we cannot waste time on misguided, wrong-headed and ultimately destructive ideas that take agency away from people.

Instead, we will drive an agenda that empowers people and actively challenges discrimination.

We will use evidence to inform policy and drive change.

And we will focus on increasing openness and transparency, fixing the system rather than the results.

Together, we will build back a better society and lead the new fight for fairness.

Commenting on the speech by Liz Truss on the government’s new approach to inequality, TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady said: “No matter who you are or where you are from, everyone should be able to get on in life. 

“Liz Truss is presenting a false choice. 

“Ministers must both tackle the barriers facing today’s diverse working class, and act to end the additional discrimination and disadvantage affecting BME, women and disabled workers.  

“They should start by banning the hated zero-hours contracts in their employment bill due in 2021. This would help end the insecurity that penalises BME workers and women in particular, and holds down living standards for all workers.” 

The TUC wants the government to: 

  • Tackle insecure work at the employment bill, due in 2021, including banning zero-hours contracts 
  • Introduce a legal duty on all public bodies to tackle class and income inequality 
  • Bring in mandatory reporting of BME, class and disability pay gaps, as with gender 

Furlough scheme extended

The furlough scheme has been extended until the end of April 2021 with the government continuing to contribute 80% towards wages – giving businesses and employees across the UK certainty into the New Year, Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced yesterday.

  • certainty for millions of jobs and businesses as furlough scheme extended until the end of April 2021
  • businesses struggling will have now until the end of March to access government generous loan schemes
  • Chancellor also confirmed that the Budget will be on the 3 March and set out the next phase of the plan to tackle the virus and protect jobs

In a move to ensure firms can access the support they need through continuing economic disruption, Rishi Sunak also confirmed he would be extending the government-guaranteed Covid-19 business loan schemes until the end of March.

These changes come ahead of the Budget, which the Chancellor has confirmed will take place on 3 March 2021. This will deliver the next phase of the plan to tackle the virus and protect jobs, so the extensions to the business loan and furlough schemes enable businesses to plan with certainty and access support in the first few months of the New Year ahead of the further update on wider Covid-19 economic support.

So far, the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) scheme has protected 9.6 million jobs across the UK with more than one million businesses accessing loans to help them through the crisis.

Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak said: “Our package of support for businesses and workers continues to be one of the most generous and effective in the world – helping our economy to recover and protecting livelihoods across the country.

“We know the premium businesses place on certainty, so it is right that we enable businesses to plan ahead regardless of the path the virus takes, which is why we’re providing certainty and clarity by extending this support, as well as implementing our Plan for Jobs.”

Business Secretary, Alok Sharma, said: “While our loan schemes have provided a vital lifeline to millions of firms across the country, we know that business owners need additional certainty as we head into the New Year.

“Extending government-backed loan schemes will give companies right across the UK the finance they need to support, protect and create jobs as we build back better from the pandemic.”

The Chancellor said he would review the employer contribution element of the CJRS in January, but decided to bring this forward to allow businesses to plan ahead for the remainder of the winter and the New Year.

The government will continue to pay 80% of the salary of employees for hours not worked until the end of April. Employers will only be required to pay wages, National Insurance Contributions (NICS) and pensions for hours worked; and NICS and pensions for hours not worked.

The eligibility criteria for the UK-wide scheme will remain unchanged and these changes will continue to apply to all Devolved Administrations.

Extending the scheme until the end of April means businesses across the country will have certainty about what support will be available to them.

Businesses will also be given until the end of March to access the Bounce Back Loan Scheme, Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme, and the Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme. These had been due to close at the end of January.

The schemes have already provided over £68 billion in guaranteed loans, and helped to keep afloat business in all sectors of the UK economy who have been impacted by coronavirus.

We are extending the schemes now, ahead of Christmas and further into the new year, to ensure that businesses can continue to access the support they need to grow and recover.

The government has already announced that more support will be available beyond March, through a successor loan scheme. More details of the scheme will be announced in due course, with the government providing a further update on wider Covid-19 economic support at the Budget on 3 March.

The furlough and loan schemes are part of the government’s wider plan to support, create and protect jobs through its Plan for Jobs. This includes the Kickstart Scheme, more investment in training and skills as well as the Self Employment Income Support Scheme grant, with a fourth grant being made available from February to April 2021.

Commenting on yesterday’s announcement by the Chancellor that the Job Retention Scheme will be extended until April, TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady said: “Unions have been pushing hard for the job retention scheme to be extended. This decision will bring some much-needed certainty for workers and businesses. 

“But the threat of mass unemployment has not gone away. The government must provide additional support for the industries hit hardest by this crisis – like retail and hospitality. 

“And it must create the jobs we need by investing now in jobs in green infrastructure, transport and our public services. 

“Fast-tracking spending on these areas will cut unemployment and help the UK recover more quickly from this pandemic. Ministers should take this opportunity to improve the scheme, with a minimum wage floor, clear support for training and better support for the self-employed.” 

On the need to help workers who lose their jobs, Frances O’Grady added: “We can’t afford for this pandemic to scar people’s prospects the way recent crises have. Ministers must help those who lose their jobs get back on their feet by providing a permanent boost to universal credit’. 

TUC research: One in three BME workers have had to self-isolate

Black and minority ethnic (BME) workers have had to self-isolate at a much higher rate than white workers, according to new TUC research published this week.  

The poll, carried out by Britain Thinks, shows that more than a third (35%) of BME workers have self-isolated during the pandemic compared to a quarter (24%) of white workers.   

Feeling unsafe at work  

The TUC believes the research shows that BME workers are being put at greater risk of coronavirus exposure than white colleagues.   

While half of white workers (49%) reported that their employer had done a Covid-Secure risk assessment for their workplace, this falls to 36% for BME workers. This is despite the risk assessment being a legal requirement.   

Higher stress levels 

Working during the pandemic continues to have a negative impact on the levels of stress and anxiety of two-fifths of BME workers (38%).  

BME workers (88%) are more likely to have concerns about returning to work than white workers (78%).   

Previous TUC analysis has shown that BME people are far more likely to be in precarious work and in jobs with higher coronavirus mortality rates than white workers, such as security guards, carers, nurses and drivers.    

Unfair treatment 

Almost a third (32%) of BME workers report having experienced 3 or more forms of unfair treatment compared to a quarter of white workers.  

In addition, almost a quarter (23%) of BME workers report experiencing abuse from other members of their workplace, compared to 16% of white workers. 

TUC antiracism task force  

The findings are published today (Thursday) as the TUC’s new antiracism task force meets for the first time. It is chaired by NASUWT General Secretary Dr Patrick Roach.    

The task force will lead the trade union movement’s renewed campaign against racism at work. It will engage with Black workers across the UK to hear about their experiences. And it will produce recommendations on tackling structural racism in the UK, in workplaces and in unions themselves.      

TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady said: “This government has been careless of the impact of coronavirus on BME lives.   

“BME workers are more likely to be exposed to the virus, less likely to work in Covid-Secure workplaces, and therefore more likely to be plunged into hardship if they have to self-isolate.    

“BME workers – and all workers – should be entitled to decent sick pay when they have to self-isolate, and to safe workplaces.   

“The government should act to rid the UK of the low wage insecure jobs that keep many BME workers in poverty and put them at higher risk from the virus. And it should set out a real commitment to ending systemic racism and discrimination.”    

Chair of the TUC’s anti-racism task force and NASUWT General Secretary Dr Patrick Roach said: “There is a hostile environment for Black workers today which means they are more likely to face discrimination in the workplace, to be in insecure jobs, and more likely to be dismissed from work. 

“And, during the pandemic we have also seen how racial discrimination has resulted in Black workers being much more likely to die at work as a result of Coronavirus. 

“As the Task Force begins its work, we will be hearing evidence from Black workers about their experiences of everyday racism in the workplace. 

“The Anti-Racism Task Force will not hesitate to call out racial injustice wherever we find it. It will bring together a strong coalition to deliver a programme of measures to root out racism and tackle racial discrimination and injustice at work.” 

Government should use Job Retention Scheme to encourage self isolation, says new report

The Government should use the Job Retention Scheme (JRS) to encourage more workers to self-isolate at home – a key part of the strategy to fight Covid-19 that the current sick pay regime is failing to support – according to new research published by the Resolution Foundation.

The report – Time Out – explores the eligibility, generosity and efficacy of the UK’s statutory sick pay regime and Test and Trace payments during the Covid-19 crisis, and considers the case for reform.

It concludes that with self-isolating continuing to play a crucial role in fighting Covid-19 throughout 2021 as the vaccine is rolled-out, and with the Head of Test and Trace Dido Harding admitting that financial difficulty means some people are refusing to self-isolate, the current system needs to be replaced with a more effective regime.

The report notes that the main support available for employees asked to self-isolate at home is Statutory Sick Pay (SSP). But at just £96 a week, SSP offers the lowest level of Government support provided across any advanced economy during the pandemic. SSP replaces less than a quarter of a typical employee’s previous earnings, compared to an OECD average replacement rate of 60 per cent.

Furthermore, two million employees earning less than £120 a week are not eligible for SSP – a barrier that excludes one-in-four part-time workers, and one-in-seven workers in retail, hospitality and leisure – leaving them with no income at all if they self-isolate at home.

The UK Government has implicitly acknowledged the limitations of SSP by introducing £500 Test and Trace Support Payments (TTSP) for individuals entitled to benefits.

However, the report finds that these more generous payments are not reaching enough people, with only one-in-eight workers entitled to them. For example, data supplied by local authorities across West Yorkshire – an area which has had one of the highest infection rates in the UK over recent months – showed that just 1,783 payments have been made between 12 October and 25 November.

With financial support for self-isolating at home playing a critical role in helping to bring Covid infections down, the report calls for a more effective, generous and easy to deliver support regime to be put in place – using the JRS, Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) and Employment and Support Allowance (ESA).

The Foundation proposes the following support:

  • Employees to be paid via the JRS. Extending the JRS to include self-isolation payments would ensure workers retained 80 per cent of their previous earnings. The Foundation estimates this would cost £426 million a month (up from around £112 million which is spent on SSP) if 643,000 employees used the scheme.
  • Self-employed workers to be paid pro-rata via the SEISS. Grants of up £830 should be awarded to self-employed workers who need to self-isolate for ten days, if they haven’t already claimed.
  • Self-employed workers not entitled to SEISS to be paid via enhanced ESA. The many self-employed workers not eligible for the SEISS are entitled to ESA. This payment should be uprated by £20 to £96 a week – in line with the uprating of Universal Credit – while people are asked to self-isolate.

The Foundation adds that while the following package of measures would help to get Covid infections down, the failure of the UK’s sick pay regime should not be forgotten once the pandemic has passed. Permanent reforms to both its eligibility, generosity and operation will be needed, it says.

Maja Gustafsson, Researcher at the Resolution Foundation, said: “Getting people to self-isolate at home is one of the important tools we have in combatting Covid-19. But asking workers to do that often involves a major financial sacrifice – and the UK’s sick pay regime has been woefully inadequate in providing the necessary support. Many more Covid infections will have taken place as a result.

“Coronavirus vaccines will take many months to roll out, so more workers will need to self-isolate at home to contain the spread of the virus next year. Given the failure of the current sick pay regime, the Government must turn now to the far more successful job support schemes to provide workers and firms with the financial support they need to do the right thing.”

Time-outDownload

TUC general secretary Frances O’Grady commented: “The lack of decent sick pay has been a gaping hole in the government’s Covid strategy. Asking workers to self-isolate on £96 a week is not viable – especially when many don’t have savings to fall back on.”

She warned: “This problem needs fixing urgently. Until people are given sick pay they can survive on they will be forced to choose between following the health advice and paying their bills. Nobody should be plunged into financial hardship for doing the right thing.

“Sick pay should be raised to at least the rate of the real living wage and everyone should be entitled to it. It’s not right that two million workers are excluded from it because they do not earn enough.”

TUC polling published in September revealed that more than 4 in 10 workers would be plunged into financial hardship if forced to self-isolate for two weeks on SSP.

TUC warns of food factory ‘super-spreaders’

  • Workers in food manufacturing already face a higher risk of getting Covid-19
  • Huge influx of Christmas temporary staff could see cases “rocket”
  • Ministers must update health and safety guidance and place a legal duty on employers to publish their risk assessments, says TUC

The TUC has warned that food processing factories could become “super spreaders” of Covid-19 in the run up to Christmas. 

People working in food plants already face a higher chance of contracting Covid-19 due to the lack of airflow, lack of social distancing and low temperatures, says the TUC.

With the number of temporary workers in food manufacturing set to increase by more than 40% this Christmas, the union body says the risk of workplace infections will grow. 

Since March, several UK food factories have been forced to close during the pandemic after reporting hundreds of cases of coronavirus, among them suppliers to major supermarkets. Last month, turkey meat manufacturer Bernard Matthews reported 147 positive cases across two sites.

Food processing has the third highest rate of outbreaks of any sector across Europe, after care homes and hospitals, according to data from the European Centre for Disease Control.

Temporary workers

Food manufacturing companies across Britain are currently advertising for temporary workers as they gear up for the busy Christmas period. They include:

  • Dessert factory Bakkavor, which had 115 staff test positive for Covid-19 over the summer. The company is seeking hundreds of seasonal staff to meet demand for Christmas.
  • Meat supplier Cranswick, previous hit by outbreaks that led to three workers losing their lives, which is recruiting for at least 130 Christmas jobs in one factory.

Safety guidance is “out-of-date”

The TUC warns that current workplace safety guidance for food production is “out-of-date”.

New scientific studies have shown the significance of airborne transmission with Covid-19 aerosols remaining suspended in the air for hours. But the existing government guidance is still largely based on stopping spread of droplets which fall to the ground in seconds.  

The TUC says ministers must update the guidance to deal with issues including:  

  • Ventilation: the current guidance fails to offer advice on effective ventilation beyond opening windows. And it doesn’t state what additional measures should be implemented in instances where this is not possible to achieve.  
  • Face coverings: the government should issue detailed standards on the quality of face coverings. The World Health Organisation says there should be three protective layers.  
  • Workplace temperature: studies show that coronavirus thrives in the cooler temperatures found in meat packing factories. But there is no mention of workplace temperatures in the current official guidance.  
  • Social distancing: the current guidance states that, where two metre distancing is not possible, working side-by-side is preferable to face-to face. The TUC says this rule should be reviewed based on the most recent scientific findings.  

The TUC says ministers must “stop dragging their feet” and make it a legal requirement on employers to publish their risk assessments so that workers have confidence that the necessary precautions are in place. 

TUC polling published in September revealed that just two-fifths (38%) of workers say they know their employers have carried out Covid-Secure risk assessments. And only four in ten (42%) reported being given adequate PPE.

TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady said: “There is a real danger that food factories could become ‘super spreaders’ of Covid-19 as they produce turkeys and other seasonal fare for Christmas.

“Out-of-date guidelines on food production, combined with the seasonal increase in staff, will put factory workers at an even higher risk of infection.

“Ministers urgently need to update the guidance for food production. They must require employers to publish their risk assessments. And they must resource the HSE properly, so it can get into food factories and crack down on unsafe working. 

“That’s how to make sure everyone is safe at work this Christmas.”

Enforcement not doing enough to contain outbreaks

The TUC says comparatively little enforcement action is taking place. The number of notices issued by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) for Covid-19 related reasons is very low, with just 31 issued to manufacturing employers since April.

The TUC wants to see a big rise in workplace inspections. And the union body says that employer compliance, as measured by the HSE, is at odds with the rise in workplace infections because government safety measures are not up-to-date and not doing enough to protect workers.

TUC: Don’t repeat mistakes of Test and Trace by outsourcing Covid-19 vaccine programme

The TUC has warned the UK government against repeating the mistakes of Test and Trace by outsourcing the Covid-19 vaccine programme.

The union body says ministers must learn the lessons from the failures of Test and Trace and PPE provision by ensuring the design and delivery of the vaccination programme is led by public health professionals not private contractors.

The TUC has today published a five-step plan the government should take to ensure effective distribution and take-up of the vaccine:

1. Empower local public health teams to take the lead: Local directors of public health must be given a central role in co-ordinating the vaccination programme and not be “marginalised” like under Test and Trace, says the TUC.

Local public health teams have consistently proven more effective at outreach than the centralised Test and Trace system – with contact rates of over 90% compared to 60% for services run by Serco. But they have been forced to make do with small and piecemeal amounts of money in comparison to the billions handed to Serco.

With the vaccine likely to require significant outreach work at community level, local public health teams must be given the funding they need to run large-scale vaccination programmes.

2. Improve supply chains: The NHS’s fragmented and privatised supply chains massively slowed down the supply of PPE to frontline staff during the first wave of the crisis.

To avoid similar delays with the supply of the vaccine ministers should look at using public fleets as appropriate.

3. Trained healthcare staff should administer the vaccine: The effectiveness of Test and Trace has been hugely undermined by private companies drafting in non-healthcare staff with minimal training, says the TUC.

The union body says any expansion in staff able to administer vaccines should be overseen and organised by NHS organisations or local authorities.

Training non-health workers to give vaccines should be only a last resort, with options such as bringing health workers back from retirement considered first.

4. Persuade and support people to get the vaccine: Compliance with the vaccination programme should be achieved through persuasion not compulsion, says the TUC.

Getting vaccinated must not be made a condition of employment or access to public services.  

And staff should be given paid time-off to get vaccinated.

5. Build public trust: A high level of engagement and compliance will be essential for the vaccination programme to be successful.

Trust and confidence in the vaccination system is most likely to be maximised by a system designed and led by public health professionals.

Public health experts should lead on communications around vaccination roll out and the impact. This will help avoid the politicisation of announcements and ensure that public expectations are realistic. And there should be transparency and a public discussion about who is prioritised for the vaccine.

TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady said: “We all have a shared interest in getting the vaccine programme right. It’s our only shot at getting life back to normal.But that means learning the lessons from the failures of Test and Trace and PPE provision.


“The best way to deliver an effective rollout – and build public trust in the vaccine – is for local public health teams to run it. They know their communities best and are best placed to reach them.


“Outsourcing Test and Trace to private contractors has caused huge problems. We cannot afford the same mistake to be made with the delivery of the vaccine.”

On the need to provide persuasion and support, Frances O’Grady added: “The Test and Trace programme has not supported people to do the right thing. People are still not being given the level of sick pay they need to self-isolate and are then hit with large fines for not complying.

“We need a sea-change of approach when it comes to the vaccine.

“People need to be persuaded, not forced into taking it. Allowing workers paid-time off to get vaccinated will help make things easier.”

TUC stands in solidarity with the Palestinian people

Today, on this UN Day of International Solidarity with the Palestinian People, the TUC is standing side by side with our sisters and brothers in their struggle for peace, justice, equality and an end to the illegal occupation of their land.

Supporting Palestinian rights is a priority for the TUC.  

The ITUC rates Palestine as one of the worst countries in the world for workers, with no guarantee of rights due to a breakdown in the rule of law.  

Our work and policies in support of Palestinian rights and decent work are set out in an evidence-based report, ‘Justice for Palestine’ published today.   

The TUC calls on the UK government to: 

  • publicly support ending the illegal military occupation of Palestine; 
  • take firm action to ensure annexation does not go ahead; 
  • speak out in support of protecting all Palestinian human rights, including the right to collective self-determination and the right of refugees to return; 
  • recognise the State of Palestine and support genuine efforts towards a comprehensive, just and lasting peace based on a two-state solution, with Palestinians and Israelis participating as equals in talks. 

Israel’s occupation of Palestinian land has lasted for over 50 years, in violation of international law.  

The human rights situation “deteriorates day-by-day”, according to the UN’s Special Rapporteur. Human rights violations in the occupied Palestinian territory (OPT)  include labour exploitation, home demolitions, forcible population transfer, excessive use of force and torture, and restrictions on freedom of movement.  

In the first six months of 2020, 21 Palestinians were killed by Israeli Occupying Forces (IOF) with at least half being shot.  

The nation-state law, passed by Israel’s Knesset in 2018 enshrines discrimination, and the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights has called on Israel to repeal the law or bring it into line with the relevant Covenant.  

Israel has been allowed to act with impunity for decades, and it is now threatening to annex more Palestinian land.  

Despite claims by outgoing President Trump and others that annexation is off the table as part of Israel’s agreement with the United Arab Emirates, Prime Minister Netanyahu has stated that “There is no change in my plan to apply sovereignty, our sovereignty, in Judea and Samaria, in full coordination with the US. I’m committed to it, this hasn’t changed… This issue remains on the table”.  

But arguably, annexation is happening on the ground anyway with, for example, Israel’s construction of the 700km-plus wall mainly built on Palestinian land.  

We’ve written to the UK government stating our concerns about the annexation threat and called on it to publicly state that annexation would be met with serious consequences.  

The occupation has suffocated the Palestinian economy.  

According to the ILO, the occupation, settlements and restrictions such as checkpoints, roadblocks, the wall, metal gates, being unable to access natural resources and infrastructure “severely affect Palestinians’… right to non-discrimination, with regard to pursuing an adequate standard of living and decent work”.  

The economy in Gaza, blockaded by air, sea and land for over a decade is near collapse. Poverty rates in Gaza are over 50 per cent.  

Young Palestinian women face particularly bleak employment prospects, with 66 per cent out of the labour force in quarter two (April-June) of 2020.  

Despite business having an obligation to respect human rights under the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, many are complicit and profit from the occupation and violations of Palestinian human rights – with some of these listed in the UN’s database.  

This complicity must end. 

Faced with little alternative, around 130,000 Palestinians work in the illegal settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory, and in Israel, in exploitative conditions characterised by discrimination, low pay, insecurity, poor health and safety and few rights at work (see report for more details).  

It’s good to hear that the Israeli government will finally make improvements to the exploitative permit system for construction workers in Israel, so that they will receive permits directly, rather than through their employer.  

This looks like a step forward and should establish a direct relationship between workers and employers, rather than via profiteering labour brokers – but enforcement will be vital.  

We’re still waiting for more information about this policy change, but we’d want to see all workers treated fairly and have their rights respected.  

The Covid-19 pandemic has added further hardship and uncertainty for Palestinian workers and their families.  

Despite a tripartite agreement being signed with the Palestine General Federation of Trade Unions (PGFTU), 52 per cent of workers did not receive their salary/wages during the lockdown period. The PGFTU has been supporting incomes and providing food aid.

Meanwhile, the illegal settlements on occupied Palestinian territory continue to expand – a move recently jointly condemned by the UK, France, Germany, Italy and Spain as being in violation of international law and imperilling the viability of a two-state solution. Around 600,000 Israeli settlers now live in the occupied West Bank, with about one-third in East Jerusalem, in approximately 250 settlements.  

The extensive appropriation of land and the appropriation and destruction of property required to build and expand settlements breaches international humanitarian law. 

This injustice cannot continue 

In solidarity with Palestinian people, the TUC supports a ban on trade with the illegal settlements, an end to arms trading with Israel, and suspension of the UK-Israel Trade and Partnership Agreement until Palestinian rights are respected.  

We encourage affiliates, employers and pension funds to disinvest from, and boycott the goods of, companies who profit from illegal settlements, the occupation and the construction of the wall. 

We stand in solidarity with the Palestinian people. 

For more information about the TUC’s policies and work on Palestine see:  

Our report

Our Executive summary

Our solidarity message

TUC: government must do more to end inequality 10 years on from Equality Act

The TUC yesterday called on the UK government to implement the Equality Act in full on its tenth anniversary. The Equality Act became law on 1 October 2010.

The union organisation is also challenging ministers to show how they have delivered on the legal duties in the act in their response to the Covid-19 pandemic. 

It protects working people from discrimination based on age, sex, disability, race, religion or belief, sexual orientation, marriage or civil partnership status, pregnancy or maternity, or gender reassignment. It was also designed to improve the lives of working class people through tackling inequality, but that part of the act, the socio-economic duty, was never brought into force. 

The TUC is concerned that ten years since it was introduced, the full powers of the act have still not been implemented. And there is little evidence that the government is fulfilling its legal duty to consider the impact on inequalities in the decisions it makes. 

The TUC says that Covid-19 has deepened inequality and discrimination at work, and is calling on the government to: 

  • Bring the socio-economic duty into force: This was included in the original act but never implemented. It would require government and the public sector to deliver better outcomes for lower income people and make narrowing inequality a priority.  
  • Reintroduce protections subsequently taken out: Previous governments have stripped away protections that were originally in the Equality Act – such Section 40, which would make employers liable for harassment of their employees by customers or clients. The union body says that in the current situation where hostility and assaults on retail and hospitality staff are increasing during the pandemic, this should be reinstated urgently.   
  • Publish equality impact assessments for all government policies, as the law requires: in particular, the government should publish every equality impact assessment that they carried out to inform their response to Covid-19 – and should be held to account for those that are missing.  

TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady said: “Everyone has the right to respect and equal treatment at work – and in wider society. 

“The Equality Act should have been a gamechanger. But ten years on, it still isn’t fully in force. Now is the time for the government to implement it in full.   

“The pandemic has shown that the UK is still riven with discrimination.  

“Black workers are more likely to be in frontline jobs with inadequate PPE – and more likely to die. Pregnant and disabled workers are too often first in line for redundancy. And the disappearance of much childcare provision has left women struggling to hold on to their jobs.  

“Without the protection of Section 40 of the Equality Act, staff have less protection from abuse and harassment. Yet during the pandemic, we have seen a rise in hostility and assaults on shop workers and hospitality staff.   

“Britain can be a more equal, more prosperous country. Equality must not be an afterthought for ministers.”  

Cut unemployment by unlocking public service jobs, says TUC

  • NEW TUC REPORT identifies 600,000 existing public service vacancies and staff gaps that government could unlock quickly to cut jobless rate  
  • The more people in work, the faster we will work our way out of recession, says TUC 

A new TUC report has set out proposals for a public sector jobs drive to stave off mass unemployment and help the UK quickly recover from the Covid-19 recession. 

The UK entered the Covid-19 crisis with our public services weakened by a decade of cuts. But public service workers gave their all to keep essential services going. 

As we move out of the public health crisis, we are moving towards an economic crisis, with the Bank of England warning of mass unemployment with 2.5 million people out of work by the end of the year. 

Creating decent jobs 

The TUC’s report sets out a plan for public sector jobs to contribute to the fast employment growth the UK now needs. 

It identifies the additional staff required across the public sector to fill vacancies, address shortfalls in provision and meet future need. 

The union body is calling for government to urgently unlock the 600,000 jobs identified, including: 

  • 135,000 in health  
  • 220,000 in adult social care   
  • 110,000 in local government   
  • 80,000 in education  
  • 50,000 in civil service / public administration   

Taken together with proposals published by the TUC in June to create 1.25 million jobs by fast-tracking green infrastructure investment, this plan could deliver a total of 1.85 million new jobs in the next two years. 

Powering recovery 

The TUC says that the government-led jobs drive would help support a stronger and faster private sector recovery too, with opportunities in supply chains and from the boost to spending power across the economy. 

And it would help protect the Treasury from the revenue shortfall arising from the downside recovery scenario set out by the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR). 

Under the OBR’s downside  scenario, peak unemployment would be two million higher than for the upside scenario. TUC analysis of OBR data finds that the Treasury would lose out on £520bn in revenue over the next five years on the downside scenario relative to the upside. 

The TUC says that the government must invest now to put the UK on the upside path – by preventing mass unemployment.  

Otherwise the nation will suffer the high costs of mass unemployment, weak revenue and slow growth for many years ahead. 

TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady said:  “Working people carried the burden of the pandemic. They must not bear the brunt of the recession. The government must go all out to protect and create jobs and prevent the misery of mass unemployment. 

“The more people we have in work, the faster the recovery will be. But ministers are sitting on their hands. It’s absurd to leave unfilled vacancies and unmet need in public services when unemployment is rising. Ministers should urgently provide the funding that will unlock existing public services vacancies and create good new jobs.  

“Our plan to invest in good public services jobs will help workers avoid unemployment. It will strengthen the vital services that we all rely on. And it will get people out spending in local business and services. That’s how to drive the recovery forward.” 

congress-jobs-story_reportDownload

– TUC Congress 2020: The TUC’s 152nd annual Congress takes place today and tomorrow (Monday 14 and Tuesday 15 September).

For full details of the programme, how to watch debates and how to participate in digital fringe meetings, go to: https://www.tuc.org.uk/Congress2020  

New payment for people self-isolating in highest-risk areas

People in England on low incomes who need to self-isolate and are unable to work from home in areas with high incidence of COVID-19 are to benefit from a new payment scheme.

  • Government to implement new payment for people on low incomes in areas with high rates of COVID-19, who need to self-isolate and can’t work from home
  • Payments of up to £182 to be made to people who have tested positive for COVID-19 and their contacts
  • Scheme to start first in Blackburn with Darwen, Pendle, and Oldham

People on low incomes who need to self-isolate and are unable to work from home in areas with high incidence of COVID-19 will benefit from a new payment scheme starting on Tuesday 1 September, the Health Secretary has announced today.

Starting with a trial in Blackburn with Darwen, Pendle and Oldham to ensure the process works, eligible individuals who test positive with the virus will receive £130 for their 10-day period of self-isolation. Other members of their household, who have to self-isolate for 14 days, will be entitled to a payment of £182.

Non-household contacts advised to self-isolate through NHS Test and Trace will also be entitled to a payment of up to £182, tailored to the individual length of their isolation period.

It is designed to support people who are unable to work from home while self-isolating, either after testing positive, or after being identified by NHS Test and Trace as living in the same household as – or coming into contact with – someone who has tested positive. It will be available to people currently receiving either Universal Credit or Working Tax Credit.

UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock said: The British public have already sacrificed a great deal to help slow the spread of the virus. Self-isolating if you have tested positive for COVID-19, or have come into contact with someone who has, remains vital to keeping on top of local outbreaks.

“This new payment scheme will help people on low incomes and who are unable to work from home to continue playing their part in the national fight against this virus.”

Payments will be provided within 48 hours of the eligible individual providing the necessary evidence. Individuals will be asked to provide a notification from NHS Test and Trace and a bank statement.

The local authority can also check the NHS Test and Trace system to confirm the individual has been asked to self-isolate, if the individual is unable to provide this information. The local authority will put in place checks to prevent fraud and ensure compliance through welfare check-ins, phone calls and employment checks.

There will be a rapid review of the scheme in Blackburn with Darwen, Pendle and Oldham to assess the performance consider how effectively vulnerable people have been reached, and consider how far it has helped reduce transmission of the virus in these areas. If the approach is successful, the scheme will be quickly applied in other areas of high COVID-19 incidence.

This will not reduce any other benefits they receive. This payment equates to:

  • £130 if an individual has tested positive for coronavirus and has to self-isolate for 10 days (from the point they first developed symptoms).
  • £182 if a member of an individual’s household has tested positive for coronavirus and they are asked to self-isolate for 14 days (from the point the member of their household first developed symptoms).
  • £13 per day (up to a maximum of £182) if an individual is identified as a non-household contact of another person who has tested positive for coronavirus and is asked to self-isolate up until 14 days after they were most recently in contact with the person who tested positive.

To be eligible for the funding, individuals must meet the following criteria:

  • Have tested positive for Covid-19 or received a notification from NHS Test and Trace asking them to self-isolate
  • Have agreed to comply with the notification from NHS Test and Trace and provided contact details to the local authority.
  • Be employed or self-employed. Employed people will be asked to show proof of employment. Self-employed will be required to show evidence of trading income and that their business delivers services which the local authority reasonably judges they are unable to carry out without social contact
  • Be unable to work from home (checks will be undertaken on all applicants) and will lose income a result
  • Be currently receiving Universal Credit or Working Tax Credit.

The TUC says the payment is nothing like enough, however,

Commenting on today’s (Thursday) announcement that the government is piloting payments of £13 a day to people on low incomes who need to self-isolate, TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady said: “These paltry payments will not make the difference needed.  

“Every worker should have the right to decent sick pay so they can help stop the spread of the virus. Ministers shouldn’t need a trial to know that’s the right thing to do. And sick pay must not become a post code lottery.  

“The sooner government gets on with delivering fair sick pay for everyone, the quicker we will beat this pandemic. 

“It should be at least as much as the real Living Wage – £320 a week – so everyone who needs to self-isolate can afford to.”