Why are cases of Covid in the workplace not being reported in the UK? | Alice Martin
In order to truly understand who gets the virus and how, companies must be required to disclose all cases and fatalities
Shortly before the pandemic began I started working as an adviser to shareholders – mostly local authority and trade union pension funds – on labour rights concerns in the companies in which they invest. Circumstances changed very quickly, but this has led me to speak, from my living room, on a weekly basis to people in frontline services about their working situations. I’ve talked to their union representatives and employers as part of formal meetings on behalf of the company shareholders.
I have heard about countless instances of dangerous practices and rash decisions by companies. In the scramble to balance workforce safety with protecting their bottom line, mistakes have been made – often repeatedly and in some cases systemically. Someone working in a food plant recalled colleagues being asked to wear cake boxes as masks. A union rep took a call from a woman in tears who was expected to clean care home rooms of deceased Covid patients with just a cloth and disinfectant spray. People across the UK took public transport to work while unwell because they couldn’t afford not to.
Read the original article at The Guardian