MPs accuse the PM of confusing lockdown-easing
GO-TO-WORK MESSAGE IS CREATING MORE RISK, HE IS TOLD
NEWCASTLE MPs told Boris Johnson he is relaxing the lockdown “in a haphazard and confusing manner” and putting workers at risk.
Chi Onwurah and Catherine McKinnell both challenged the Prime Minister as he answered questions in the House of Commons.
Mr Johnson announced on Sunday that people who cannot work from home were being “actively encouraged to go to work”.
But Ms Onwurah, MP for Newcastle Central, said workplaces may not be safe.
She told Mr Johnson: “The North East has the highest coronavirus infection rate in the country and some of the highest levels of deprivation, with areas where coronavirus mortality is twice that in the least deprived areas.
“Now the Prime Minister is telling those who cannot work from home – mainly those in lower-paid, manual and people-facing jobs – to get back to work without transport, childcare, PPE or proper protections for workers in place, putting more risk on those already at risk.
“Will he say clearly that, first and foremost, everyone has a duty and a right to stay safe – yes or no?”
Ms McKinnell, MP for Newcastle North, highlighted the Government’s goal, set out repeatedly by ministers, of ensuring the NHS is not overwhelmed.
As others have pointed out, this could be taken to mean that the Government considers some level of Covid-19 acceptable, as long as the NHS can cope.
She asked Mr Johnson: “Hundreds are dying every day and we still do not have sufficient testing and tracing to measure and control the spread of infection, yet the Government are starting to relax lockdown in a haphazard and confusing manner.
“The Prime Minister continues to claim his strategy is a success, despite us having the highest death toll in Europe. Is it the Government’s position that as long as the NHS can cope it is less important how many catch the virus and sadly die?”
Mr Johnson said the Government would “insist” employers made workplaces safe.
He said: “We are going to insist that businesses across this country look after their workers and are Covid-secure and Covid-compliant.
“The Health and
Safety Executive will be enforcing that, and we will have spot inspections to make sure that businesses are keeping their employees safe.
“It will, of course, be open to employees who do not feel safe to raise that with not just their employers but the Health and Safety Executive as well.”
And he insisted that far from ending the lockdown in a haphazard way, the Government was not ending it at all.
He said: “We are not ending the lockdown. We have to be very clear with people that the measures remain in place.
“We are saying that they should look at the precise guidance that was given, which is that if they must go to work – if their job means they must go to work – they should be actively encouraged to go to work, and we are setting out steps to allow them to do so.
“The other important change we are making this week relates to people’s ability to exercise. In the next two steps, on 1 June and the beginning of July, we will be governed entirely by the science, and we will continue to work with opposition parties and across all four nations as we go forward.”
The Government has not changed the rules about going to work, and most firms have been allowed to keep workplaces open since the lockdown began, with staff expected to go to work if they cannot work from home.
But Ministers believe that some people who cannot work from home have voluntarily decided not to go to work, either because they were worried about their safety or because they misunderstood the rules.
In an effort to get more people working, Mr Johnson said on Sunday: “We now need to stress that anyone who can’t work from home, for instance those in construction or manufacturing, should be actively encouraged to go to work.” Ministers have since said that they hope more workplaces will open from Wednesday. However, guidance issued to journalists over the weekend stated that Government hoped this would happen on Monday.
It meant that the Government appeared to be encouraging offices, factories and building sites to reopen with less than 24 hours’ notice. On Monday, the Government published guidance for employers about keeping workplaces safe.