As Boris Johnson urges the UK to start getting back to work, the Mirror calls on him to put safety first.
Outlining plans yesterday, the Prime Minister said employers must be “Covid-secure”.
But it emerged coronavirus-related death rates are highest in the working class.
Unison’s Dave Prentis said: “There has to be a safe return to work. We’ve got to get this right. If we don’t, more lives will be lost.”
Guidance on what businesses can reopen, and how, was given in a roadmap for lockdown exit intended to end confusion.
But Labour chief Keir Starmer said “clarity and reassurance” remained in “short supply.”
Johnson attempted to clarify Sunday’s confusing message to the nation yesterday by urging people to start going back to work this week if they can.
But the Prime Minister’s call came as figures showed working-class men have the greatest risk of dying from Covid-19 – sparking fears the lowest-paid could be forced to put themselves in harm’s way to reboot the economy.
And despite his efforts to inspire confidence over the route out of lockdown, the Government continued to face accusations of mixed messaging.
Mr Johnson said in the Commons employers must “look after workers” and be “Covid-secure, Covid-compliant”.
He told MPs: “Anyone who cannot work from home should be actively encouraged to go to work and sectors allowed to be open should indeed be open but subject to social distancing.”
Getting us back to work is a key part of the Covid-19 Recovery Strategy, in which the Business Department gave guidance for eight settings – including factories, offices and call centres.
But the Office for National Statistics said security guards, taxi drivers, carers, bus drivers, chefs and retail assistants have higher death rates involving Covid-19 than other workers.
And as the UK death toll rose by 210 yesterday to hit 32,065, union leaders warned of an unacceptable risk to staff if they return to the front line with the pandemic still raging.
Unite demanded a public inquiry into “why low-paid workers appear to be at most risk of dying from Covid-19”.
Unison general secretary Dave Prentis said: “There has to be a safe return to work. This guidance should’ve come much sooner. People are bewildered by the confusing and often conflicting messages from Government.
"We’ve got to get this right. If we don’t, more lives will be lost and there’ll be a second spike.”
RMT general secretary Mick Cash said: “This is the Government making it up as they go along in the middle of a pandemic. It’s a shambles and it’s my members in the transport sector whose lives are on the line. The whole return to work policy should be put on hold until safety can be guaranteed.”
No10’s blueprint to ease the lockdown recommends wearing face coverings on public transport and in some shops – but they will not be compulsory. Advice for offices includes using tape or paint to keep workers two metres apart and erecting screens.
For businesses offering takeaways, guidance includes kitchen workstations two metres apart and asking customers to wait in cars.
TUC general secretary Frances O’Grady said the safety guidelines “are a step in the right direction”.
She added: “People will only feel confident if Government and employers act now to make safer working a reality. Getting this right is in the national interest.
If rogue employers cut corners it puts us all at risk of another spike and Government must get to grips with the ongoing crisis in PPE as more workers start to require it.”
The roadmap also outlines dates on which parts of normal life could resume in England – but Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own plans.
Non-essential shops will not open until June 1 at earliest and only if bosses can prove they can keep customers and staff safe. Hairdressers, cafes and restaurants will stay closed until at least July 4, as will places of worship.
Businesses trading again yesterday included garden centres and coffee shops, including 71 Pret a Manger sites.
The PM said keeping the “R” rate – the virus spread – below one would help decide the timetable. He said: “Our journey has reached the most perilous moment where a wrong move could be disastrous, so at this stage we can go no further than the first careful modifications of our measures.”
But he continued to face accusations of muddled messaging. No10 said on Sunday some changes would take effect for employees returning to work from Monday. Yet when Mr Johnson made his TV address, he failed to spell out when the shake-up would come into force.
And Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab yesterday gave conflicting messages on social distancing and returns to work. He said rules would be in force from Wednesday, sparking confusion on why the PM announced them on Sunday.
Labour leader Keir Starmer told the Commons: “What the country needs at this time is clarity and reassurance and both are in pretty short supply.”
Unison chief Mr Prentis said confusion on the lockdown “is made worse because England is now out of step with the rest of the UK”. And Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon added: “Never has the duty on political leaders to communicate clearly been greater.”
Meanwhile, the Government hit its target of 100,000 daily tests for the first time in nine days yesterday. Some 100,490 were “provided”, including home kits sent out and yet to return.
