Category: Campaigns
“Waltham Forest United for PPE” Campaign: Press Release
Revelations that more than 200 health and social care workers have died as a result of contracting the Covid-19 virus has prompted a number of campaign groups and individuals in Waltham Forest to come together to demand that essential workers are provided with Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) as a matter of course.
The campaign was initiated by WF Trades Council – which represents union members in the borough. It has been joined by representatives of political and community organisations – such as the WF Mutual Aid groups, the Waltham Forest Workers’ Coronavirus Support Group and Leyton & Wanstead Labour Party – as well as concerned individuals.
“Thousands of WF residents have shown their appreciation for the fantastic job done by essential workers on Thursday evenings”, said Organising Committee member, Tom Taylor. “Now we can repay them by supporting the “WF United for PPE” campaign.
The UNITE branch at Whipps Cross hospital has expressed fears about the scarcity of PPE.… Read on ...
Shut The Sites
Following Boris Johnson’s speech calling on the construction industry to return to work, workers have released a video on social media that calls the government strategy social murder. The video was produced by the grassroots Shut The Sitescampaign, which is calling for the closure of all non-essential building sites and for all workers to be paid irrespective of whether they are employees, self-employed or agency workers. The video has contributions from 5 construction workers and a 9 year old daughter of a building worker being forced back onto site, but also features:
- Professor Steve Tombs from the Open University who describing the new return to work strategy says “the government must know that construction workers are exposed to and unwitting carriers of coronavirus. In my view this is criminal negligence, its manslaughter, its social murder”
- Simon Hester, an ex-Health & Safety Executive lead inspector for construction in London for 18 years (currently working on safety on behalf of unions representing building workers at the Qatar World Cup)
- Professor Sian Moore, University of Greenwich who calls for all construction workers to be paid furlough money irrespective of their employment status
- Mark Anthony, the Editor of the construction trade magazine Demolition News
On the very day the Government urges all construction workers to return to work, the Office of National Statistics releases figure showing that keeping sites open has led to three times as many deaths of construction workers as healthcare professionals.