Coronavirus: Portsmouth trade union want more action to protect workers

The Portsmouth Trade Union Council met yesterday to discuss concerns which included sick pay and absence policies.

On Tuesday prime minister Boris Johnson said any workers who are required to go into self-isolation or quarantine will get Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) from the first day to help contain the virus.

But the union are concerned that low paid workers, who don’t currently have the right to SSP, will continue to work in order to feed their families and pay the bills, putting their colleagues, patients and families at risk.

Members also spoke about workers on zero hours contracts.

The union has also demanded that employers pay workers their full wages if they have to take time off work to stop the spread of the virus and the government should reimburse employers for these additional costs.

Chair Jon Woods said: ‘The fight against Coronavirus is hampered by the crisis in our NHS, years of austerity and public service cuts, the drive to more insecure and low paid employment and a de-regulated health safety culture.

‘While those at the top of society have benefitted, pay and working conditions have fallen behind. Government assurances that they handle the crisis are not convincing. We need government action that will protect workers and help stop the spread of the virus.’

The union is also worried about absence management policies penalising workers as well as the potential scenario where schools are closed and parents will have to take time off work to care for their children.

It comes as the total number of confirmed cases in the UK has risen to 116, and one woman, with underlying health conditions, became the first person in the UK to die after testing positive for coronavirus at the Royal Berkshire Hospital.

England's Chief Medical Officer Professor Chris Whitty earlier told MPs the UK has now mainly moved into the delay phase, which means measures can be ramped up to delay its spread, with possibilities including school closures, encouraging greater home working, and reducing the number of large-scale gatherings.

However, Professor Whitty said closing schools would possibly only have a ‘marginal effect’, adding that children do not appear to be as badly affected by Covid-19 as other groups.

And he told MPs the UK is now ‘heavily planning’ for the mitigation phase.