Blog: Grenfell must not be allowed to be another example of justice denied

This Sunday marks three years since the Grenfell Tower tragedy. Three years since the deaths of 72 innocent people in the most horrific circumstances, in their own homes. Three years since the worst residential fire since the Second World War.

The lives lost at Grenfell exposed government failings on housing, investment, safety standards, deregulation and building control. These were avoidable deaths, but the choices that could have saved lives weren’t made. And they still aren’t being made today. 23,000 households are still living in unsafe residential tower blocks – in both the social and private rented sectors. Clad in unsafe flammable cladding, that’s tens of thousands of families fearing for their lives three years on.

It is impossible, even during a global pandemic – to stay safe at home, when your home is unsafe.

UNISON has consistently called for safe homes for residents and for the government to provide adequate funding to remove all flammable materials to ensure the safety of residents, as set out in our housing manifesto. Yet three years on, these families, their loved ones and the community that surrounds Grenfell are still waiting.

The government’s partial ban on flammable cladding isn’t enough – and action is far too slow. Lives are being put at risk. And as the Grenfell Tower residents were once ignored when they raised concerns about fire safety, now the calls of thousands more families are being ignored too.

UNISON stands with the Grenfell survivors, the families of those who lost their lives and every single person who is forced to live in unsafe housing. Our members are working hard to provide support and to re-house survivors – a task that remains a priority but which is hindered by failed Tory housing policies which continue to denigrate and decimate social housing.

And we call for the Grenfell Tower Inquiry to give the answers this community – and our whole country – needs. The full details of what happened. The cause of the fire that cost so many people their lives. And for those responsible for failures in the building safety regulatory system- and the austerity regime that exacerbated those failings – to be held accountable.

The Government has pledged to reform the building safety regulatory system, and give residents a much stronger voice in an improved system of fire safety. They need to make that a reality, not an idle promise. And they must go further, by introducing a universal ban on the use of combustible materials on residential blocks and committing more funds to pay for the removal of all dangerous flammable materials and cladding from residential blocks to make them safe, so that a further tragedy is prevented.

They must put an end to deregulation and privatisation in the building safety system, by reversing the outsourcing of health and safety and building control services, commit more resources to fire and rescue services and local authority building control services, which have been under-funded for many years.

The Grenfell Tower tragedy must not be forgotten, nor must justice for those who lost their lives, their loved ones or their homes be delayed any further. The 72 people were not a random sample of Londoners. They were more likely to be migrant workers. They were more likely to be low-paid. They were disproportionately Black. All of which reflects those who are too often denied justice.

Grenfell must not be allowed to be another example of justice denied.

UNISON members have decided learning the lessons of the Grenfell Tower tragedy is a priority and have set out a plan to make public and private housing safe and secure.

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Lessons to be learned by government after limited schools’ reopening, says UNISON

Rushed government reopening plans have led to guidelines on ‘safe’ class sizes being ignored by ​some schools, according to a survey published by UNISON today (Friday).

More than one in five (22%) ​support staff say primary schools have operated class sizes bigger than the 15 pupils per group maximum recommended to maintain social distancing.

Nursery school ‘bubbles’ – where infants remain in small protected groups – also have more than the eight-child preferred maximum contained in government guidance, say nearly half (48%) of those surveyed.

The data was compiled from the responses of more than 8,000 employees, ​of which seven in ten (71%) are teaching and learning support assistants working in primary, nursery and special schools in England.

The findings come as the government stepped back ​earlier this week from opening primary schools for all year groups until September at the earliest.

The figures raise serious concerns around safety, especially the lack of time given to schools to minimise the risk of coronavirus infection, says UNISON.

Almost half (48%) of all the respondents said that – after the first week of opening for reception, year one and year six pupils – they weren’t reassured by their experience of working with increased pupil numbers.

Their biggest concern (56%) was contracting Covid-19 and passing it on to others, with nearly half (48%) saying social distancing between pupils is only being followed to a small extent or not at all.

The survey results highlight failings in ensuring measures are in place to keep staff and pupils safe. Four fifths (80%) of respondents say their school or nursery has not provided any detail on how the government’s ‘test, trace and isolate’ system will work in their area.

In addition, nearly one in five (19%) ​say they weren’t consulted on their workplace risk assessment in good time before ​the wider reopening​.

A third (33%) say their school or nursery is not allowing staff to use personal protective equipment (PPE) if they wish to. Almost a quarter (23%) said they were not given PPE even after a risk assessment ​said it was needed.

Other ​concerns ​highlighted include​school managers asking staff with childcare issues, the clinically vulnerable and ​black staff to return to work on school sites, without carrying out individual risk assessments.

Comments submitted to UNISON from staff who took part in the survey include:

-“I’ve been allowed to work from home after the doctor signed me off sick for anxiety. Then I was told it was highly likely I’d be needed from 1 June. I’ve been going to work half days leaving my child at home alone.”
-“It’s been a very scary time as we have had no PPE, no guidance as to what guidelines we should be following and no risk assessment.”
-“There are no structured lesson plans, no alcohol sanitiser, no PPE. One bottle of cleaning product and one cloth is shared between four classrooms.”
-“I’m more anxious about the situation now than before. The risk assessment wasn’t given to staff, but the school wants no liability. They say take it up with ​the government.”

​Commenting on the findings, UNISON head of education Jon Richards said: “This survey shows the pressures schools have been under to meet the June deadline.

​“The result is some corners have been cut, with staff ​either not consulted in time​, or not at all​ in some cases.

“​The focus has been on supporting pupils already in school, those still at home and the most vulnerable children. Now ​unions, staff and ministers must work together to get many more pupils back in September.

“Children and staff ​must be brought back safely​, and parents allowed to get back to work.​” ​

Notes to editors:
– Click here to access the full survey data. The findings are based on responses from 8,791 school staff in England including primary (87%), special schools and pupil referral units (9%), and nursery (4%)​ schools. The majority who took part were teaching/learning support assistants including higher level (71%), followed by administrative staff (5%), nursery nurses (4%); as well as learning mentors, midday supervisors, site/facilities staff, catering workers and school business professionals (all 2% each). Others included cleaners, behaviour management officers and technicians.

Case studies:

-Sarah (not her real name), a teaching assistant who is supervising two ‘bubbles’ of key workers’ children. She says: “My family have asthma and I’m concerned about spending more time in the classroom. I put my clothes in the washing machine and have a bath as soon as I return from school.”

-Louise (not her real name), a learning support assistant who is a single mother without childcare. She says: “Cover teachers are coming in to work with several classes, compromising the bubbles. I’m scared to bring the virus home to my children. I’ve offered to work in the mornings when learning takes place but the head says I’ll lose pay and my job. She says it’s imperative I return to work although I’ve no childcare.”
– UNISON is the UK’s largest union, with more than 1.3 million members providing public services – in education, local government, the NHS, police service and energy. They are employed in the public, voluntary and private sectors.

Media contacts:
Sophie Goodchild M: 07767 325595 E: s.goodchild@unison.co.uk
Liz Chinchen M: 07778 158175 E: l.chinchen@unison.co.uk

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Shock jobs announcement leaves British Gas workforce reeling, says UNISON

Commenting on Centrica’s plans announced today (Thursday) to cut 5,000 jobs in the UK, UNISON national energy officer Matt Lay said:

“This shock announcement has left employees reeling. Throughout the lockdown staff have been working incredibly hard keeping services running for customers. They’re bitterly disappointed and angry too.

“The outlook for the UK’s big energy firms is certainly challenging. But simply shedding jobs, refusing to rule out compulsory redundancies and threatening to force the remaining staff on to inferior contacts is not the answer.”

Note to editors:
– UNISON is the UK’s largest union, with more than 1.3 million members providing public services – in education, local government, the NHS, police service and energy. They are employed in the public, private and voluntary sectors.

Media contacts:
Liz Chinchen M: 07778 158175 E: press@unison.co.uk
Anthony Barnes M: 07834 864794 E: a.barnes@unison.co.uk

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Greater clarity needed from PM on plans to scrap immigration health surcharge

Four health and care organisations – including UNISON – have today (Wednesday) written to the Prime Minister seeking confirmation that all international health and care staff, and their spouses and dependants, will no longer need to pay the immigration health surcharge (IHS).

The charge, which is due to rise from £400 to £624 a year in October, is currently payable by all migrant workers from non-EU countries, whether they access NHS services or not, both for themselves and for every dependant they have.

Last month, the UK government committed to scrapping the charge for heath and care workers in the NHS, but the announcement did not include those working in other healthcare settings.

The letter, also signed by the British Medical Association, the Royal College of Nursing and the Royal College of Physicians, asks the UK government to:

• confirm that all health and care workers will be exempt from the charge on a permanent basis. This includes those employed in the NHS, independent settings and the social care sector.
• confirm that the spouses and dependants of health and care workers will also be exempt from the charge.

The letter also seeks assurances that those healthcare staff who have already paid the charge in advance will receive a refund.

UNISON general secretary Dave Prentis said: “It was always wrong to charge overseas NHS and care staff to use the very services they help provide.

“Now this wrong is to be righted, ministers must refund all charges paid and ensure family members are included too.

“Going that one step further and scrapping the charge for all overseas workers – so that everyone paying taxes and contributing to the economy is no longer punished financially – must now happen too.”

Chief executive and general secretary of the Royal College of Nursing Dame Donna Kinnair said: “We have consistently campaigned for this charge to be scrapped. It has always been unfair for health and care staff effectively to pay twice to use the very service they work in.

“We welcomed the commitment to remove the charge but now we need assurances that this will apply to all health and care workers and their families.

“The contribution of our overseas nurses, across all settings, has been incredible particularly during the pandemic and it is essential this can continue.

“Action must be taken now to ensure all those who come here to dedicate themselves to our patients are not penalised for doing so.”

BMA council chair Dr Chaand Nagpaul said: “Our international colleagues were hugely relieved when the Government made the long overdue decision to scrap this unfair charge for healthcare workers, recognising the vital contribution that overseas staff make to the NHS.

“However, three weeks’ later many will be increasingly anxious having heard nothing more.

“Doctors renewing visas are continuing to be charged and we need action now.

“The BMA persistently lobbied to have this punitive and absurd fee scrapped for our members and their colleagues and we will not stop until we have a system that is fair, right and leaves no international doctor worse off for contributing their valuable skills and expertise to the NHS and its patients.”

President of the Royal College of Physicians Professor Andrew Goddard said: “It has never made sense to make the very people whose jobs it is to care for our nation, pay inordinate charges to access care.

“While the government has recognised this, they haven’t gone far enough in reassuring all health and care workers that they and their families will be exempt from the charge.

“The contribution of international NHS and social care workers during the Covid-19 pandemic cannot be underestimated, and they should be fully recognised, commended and compensated for their efforts.”

Note to editors:
– UNISON is the UK’s largest union, with more than 1.3 million members providing public services – in education, local government, the NHS, police service and energy. They are employed in the public, private and voluntary sectors.

Media contacts:
Liz Chinchen M: 07778 158175 E: press@unison.co.uk
Anthony Barnes M: 07834 864794 E: a.barnes@unison.co.uk

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Step up, stand up and speak out against racism

The murder of George Floyd in the US and the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on Black communities in the UK have focused attention on the everyday inequalities faced by Black people.

UNISON head of equality Gloria Mills provides some context on racism in the UK and explains how the union is at the forefront of the fight against it.

Gloria, do you feel that systemic racism has never meaningfully gone away?

Systemic racism is present in our institutions, both public and private. It has never meaningfully gone away, but it has taken different forms.

In the past, Black people experienced overt racism by being called names, seeing signs saying ‘No Blacks, No Irish, No Dogs’. You do not see such blatant signs any more, but systemic racism now takes place in our private institutions.

For example, in the banks when you go to pay a bill, some banks ask you to prove your identity. As the Windrush scandal showed, it is not sufficient for Black people just to be British – you’re asked to show different forms of identity just to withdraw your monthly salary.

It is the additional checks and hurdles faced in accessing everyday services, which for most white people will never be a problem.

So while we have moved away for the naked and overt racism that Black people faced before, racism is now practiced in more covert ways – with sophistry and subtlety, but it has the same negative outcomes.

Do you fear that Brexit – and now, maybe, the increased incidence of COVID-19 in the Black community – could propel the UK towards the frequent violence seen in the US?

We need to take action to ensure that this does not happen, but the UK tends to follow the same trajectory as the US.

However, we have a different culture in the UK of fairness and tolerance, and we have to ensure that those values win through. Our democracy in the UK is different in that we have a system of open justice and good judicial oversight – so having access to justice is important.

Accountability and transparency are also key cornerstones of our democratic tradition and we need to keep it this way.

Where the danger is looming is that we need to stop the dog whistle politics and policies that feed the toxic environment that could propel UK racists towards the frequent violence seen in the US.

What is UNISON’s role in this?

UNISON has an important and pivotal role. The union has always been in the vanguard – leading and shaping the agenda.

Leadership is critical in saying where the union stands on issues, and UNISON members have always been at the forefront of challenging the major social issues of our time.

So the union has to continue to be pro-active and visible in standing with all our members and communities.

As a public service union, we are in constant dialogue and engagement with our members who live in those communities and rely on those services.

UNISON has to use the size of its membership and the power of its access to influence change and continue to hold employers and the government to account.

We need to use the tools and power of collective bargaining to challenge discrimination, inequality and force employers to comply with their legal obligations.

How do we work to improve the lives of Black people in the UK?

We need to turn the dial on racism in our public and private institutions.

We need to challenge the low rate of employment for Black people from specific sectors of the labour market, education, manufacturing and construction. Unemployment remains high at almost three times the national rate.

On pay, research from the TUC found that the ethnicity pay gap is up to 25% and research by the Resolution Foundation reported that there was a £3.2bn pay penalty facing Black workers, with Black graduate men facing the biggest pay penalty of 17%.

In some sectors, young Black men in particular are excluded from apprenticeship opportunities. At every stage of the labour market, from recruitment, redeployment to redundancies, Black workers are ‘last in, first out’.

Black people are already over-represented in precarious, part-time, temporary and zero hours contracts.

We need to improve employment opportunities, challenge employment discrimination, implement positive action measures to redress employment and economic exclusion.

This continuum promotes economic inequality across generations of Black British people – and it seems that COVID-19 thrives on inequalities.

A recent Office for National Statistics report, comparing the COVID-19 deaths rates in England and Wales, finds that the mortality rate in the most deprived areas is twice as high as in the least deprived areas.

We need to break the cycle of discrimination, disadvantage and deprivation. 

What do you think UNISON’s Black members are most concerned about and want to see changed?

Black members are most concerned that urgency and vigour are injected into the problems they face. They don’t want dither and delay while Black lives are lost.

So they are concerned about the lack of government action and the failure to improve and protect lives and livelihoods.

They expect to see the government taking the issue of the Public Health England (PHE) report seriously, giving it the attention and urgency it deserves instead of sidelining the findings on structural inequalities.

They are risking their lives to save others and they expect the government to act to save theirs.

Instead, what they have seen is more tokenistic lip service. They hoped to see government-wide ownership of this issue at a senior level.

They want to see the government bring into force sections of the Equality Act 2010 to address inequalities that result from differences in occupation, education, place of residence or social class; to implement the Conservative 2017 manifesto commitment to take action on the ethnicity and disability pay gaps and meet their commitments on gender pay reporting and equal pay.

They want a comprehensive race equality strategy and a full public inquiry into disproportionate deaths from COVID-19.

What do you think UNISON’s white members should do to support their colleagues?

White members are in a different place from Black members as they view racism through different optics.

White and Black members should have conversations not confrontations on their different perspectives.

We tend to be creatures of our environment. But we can change that by leaving our baggage behind in terms of our conditioning and stereotypes, and begin to have meaningful conversations.

White members do not always see the truth of Black people’s lived experience of everyday racism. It is important to listen and to learn.

Think about why it is that a Black person has a more difficult job to be heard than you do.

We can all make a difference if we stand together as trade unionists and don’t let employers divide and rule; challenge the micro-aggressions your colleagues and fellow trade unionists experience in the workplace.

My message is to step up, stand up and speak out in support of your colleagues – act in unison to help lift the barriers and burden of fighting everyday racism.

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English schools pause ‘the right thing to do’, says UNISON

Commenting on the announcement today (Tuesday) that primary schools in England will not have to open up to more pupils before the end of the summer term, UNISON head of education Jon Richards said:

“This was the right thing to do. As important as it is to open up schools, the challenges of bringing back all children in the next few weeks would simply have been too great.

“There have already been Covid cases in schools and many support staff and parents remain understandably anxious.

“Many schools simply don’t have the space to put in place the new rules, nor enough masks and preventative kit to fill staff with confidence. This delay will allow time to ensure the essential test, trace and isolate system is fully working.

“Confidence needs to be rebuilt amongst parents and staff to ensure a safe return so young people don’t miss out on any more of their education and parents can get back to work.

​“Unions will continue to work with ministers to ensure the September opening can happen safely and vulnerable families get all the support they need.”

Note to editors:

– UNISON is the UK’s largest union, with more than 1.3 million members providing public services – in education, local government, the NHS, police service and energy. They are employed in the public, private and voluntary sectors.

Media contacts:
Liz Chinchen M: 07778 158175 E: press@unison.co.uk
Anthony Barnes M: 07834 864794 E: a.barnes@unison.co.uk

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The government must act now to stop the illegal annexation of Palestine

Today I wrote to the Foreign Secretary, Dominic Raab, to urge him to take immediate steps to oppose the Israeli government’s illegal plans to annex huge swathes of Palestinian land in the West Bank to Israel from 1 July.

These dangerous proposals, which are supported by US President Donald Trump, represent a serious attack on decades of international law and successive United Nations resolutions, and further undermine the rights of the Palestinian people and the prospects of peace in the Middle East.

As the world is focused on the response to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Israeli government is rushing to implement these plans ahead of the US presidential elections in November.

Whilst the UK government says it doesn’t support the plans, it has failed to explain what actions, beyond words, it will take if annexation goes ahead. We know from the last 53 years of occupation that strongly worded statements without actions are consistently ignored by the Israeli government, yet the UK government seems intent of continuing with this approach.

Almost 150 parliamentarians have written to the Prime Minister to call on the government to introduce economic sanctions if annexation goes ahead, whilst the Labour Party has called for a ban on goods from the illegal settlements in the West Bank. Over 70 Palestinian civil society organisations, including many trade unions, have called for ‘Effective Measures’ as a targeted and proportionate response to the proposals. They call on the international community to suspend trade agreements with Israel, prohibit all trade with the illegal Israeli settlements and halt the arms trade with Israel – all measures which UNISON supports.

I am proud of our union’s strong and unwavering record of solidarity with the Palestinian people. UNISON has consistently called for a two-state solution, based on pre-1967 borders, with a viable Palestinian state alongside Israel. We were amongst the first unions in Europe to support calls for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions to put pressure on the Israeli government to end the occupation and the violation of Palestinian human rights and comply with international law.

The rights of the Palestinian people have been ignored by the international community for far too long. We cannot allow this attempt to destroy the prospects of a viable Palestinian state to go ahead. Our union will do all we can to urge the UK government and the international community to act immediately and decisively to stop these dangerous and destructive plans.

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