‘Non-essential staff pressured into going to work in region’
WORKERS ACROSS Yorkshire are being forced to go into offices, factories, and warehouses during the coronavirus lockdown despite them disagreeing over whether their roles are essential.
the region’s MPs, and unions have been contacted en masse by concerned employees who fear they are putting their health, or that of vulnerable family members at risk, by going to work.
But many have been told it is not possible for them to work from home or that they will not be paid if they do not come in, despite Government assistance available to furlough during the crisis.
Amid much public confusion, the Government has said employees can continue working in nonessential industries if social distancing can be safely practised.
But calls have been made for Boris Johnson to clarify exactly what measures need to be put in place.
Some 15 Yorkshire MPs – led by Leeds North West MP Alex Sobel – have written to the Government workers
A letter from Yorkshire MPs questioning why some staff are still going into work.
demanding clarification on who counts as a key worker, as they said “organisations should not be free to define staff as ‘key workers.’ Those definitions must be set out in full by the Government”.
Leeds Central MP Hilary Benn has written to Capita, which has a base in Leeds, after receiving concerns from its staff.
While Barnsley East MP Stephanie Peacock had been in contact with the chief executive at clothing retailer Asos, as workers at their Barnsley warehouse were told to go in despite workers at the business’s Camden HQ being able to work from home. Regional Organiser for GMB, Deanne Ferguson, said the union had been “inundated with calls from worried workers” at the Asos site.
Asos Chief Executive Nick
Waterloo station looks empty after the lockdown to help curb coronavirus; construction workers wear masks and maintain social distancing in London; a worker cleans hand rails on London Underground; British Airways planes stay parked on the tarmac at Glasgow Airport.
Beighton said the work could not be done at home, but said “strict social distancing protocols” had been issued including placing lines spaced two metres apart on floors and removing tables from the staff restaurant.
A Capita spokesperson said that the company’s “top priority” was staff wellbeing but that: “Many of our employees work for clients in sectors including utility, telecommunications and financial services, who continue to need services in these challenging times.”
But the letter from Yorkshire MPs said: “We do not believe that those in the telecommunications industry, other than those who deal with emergency response, should be defined as key workers.
“We also ask the Government to raise serious questions with industry leaders about why they could not run operations and call centres remotely and why they had no systems in place to do so in the event of a national emergency. These organisations are some of the wealthiest in the United Kingdom. We have seen much smaller firms, creatively redesigning their systems to allow for home working.”
They also called for clearer guidance on social distancing measures.
We also ask the Government to raise serious questions with industry leaders