Boris Johnson warned lives of parliamentary staff being 'unnecessarily put at risk' by reopening

Boris Johnson has been warned the lives of security guards, cleaners and catering staff are “unnecessarily” being put at risk by the reopening of parliament and social distancing measures being flouted.

In a letter to No 10, the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) – representing more than 800 staff on the parliamentary estate – urged the prime minister to act rapidly to ensure the safety of the workers during the coronavirus pandemic.

The union added it would “wholeheartedly” support any action taken by those it represents, as the PCS’s parliamentary branch told Commons authorities it could ballot in favour of strike action if their requirements for a safe working environment are not met.

It comes amid anger at the government’s decision to end the so-called “hybrid parliament” that was introduced during the height of the pandemic received and has resulted in scenes of MPs queueing across the Palace of Westminster in order to vote on Tuesday.

The following day, business secretary Alok Sharma also began self-isolating after appearing visibly ill during a debate in the Commons chamber and is currently awaiting the results of a Covid-19 test.

In their letter to Mr Johnson, the PCS union said the virtual parliament model, which is currently being used by the House of Lords, had worked well but “social distancing and observing pathways and signage broke down” during a round of votes on Tuesday.

It adds: “Staff believe they (and MPs) are now at increased risk of contracting Covid-19 and this, in turn, is impacting on the mental wellbeing of our members working on the estate.

“Many people can work from home, but those working as security guards, cleaners, catering staff, do not have the ability to do this. These dedicated workers are on the frontline in Parliament and across government departments, putting their lives at risk.

“We believe Parliament has reopened too soon and the lives of PCS members, and those of our sister unions, are being put at risk unnecessarily. We would therefore be grateful for your urgent intervention in this matter; the safety of our members and all those working on and attending the parliamentary estate is paramount.”

General secretary Mark Serwotka said the PCS union would support its members “wholeheartedly if they decide to take action and the blame will squarely lie with Jacob Rees-Mogg”.

“The decision to scrap the hybrid parliament has been a disaster and could potentially spark an outbreak of Covid-19 which MPs will inevitably take back to their constituents,” he added.

“Our members warned Jacob Rees-Mogg about the impracticality of reopening parliament, where social distancing is impossible. But the government would rather put lives of staff and MPs in danger in direct contradiction of their own advice to the public.”

During business questions in the Commons on Thursday, Mr Rees-Mogg was also accused of making “dismissive” comments about the cleaners working in the parliamentary estate.

Responding to suggestions he had put cleaning staff at risk with the re-opening of parliament, he said: “The cleaning staff were coming in anyway and it is worth remembering that the cleaning staff were coming into this House when we weren’t, and I think the idea that others should work when we don’t have to is one that I find unimpressive.”

Raising a point of order on the issue moments later, SNP MP Alison Thewliss said: “The Commons leader made reference to cleaners having to be in this building anyway. And I feel that the way he did that was incredibly dismissive of the work that those people do for us in this building.”

A House of Commons spokesperson said: “Our priority is to ensure that those on the estate are safe while parliamentary business is facilitated.

“We are taking every step possible to limit the number of staff who have to physically return to the building and are meeting regularly with representative of the trade unions for staff in the House of Commons and PDS.

“We are taking all practical measures to anticipate numbers of people travelling to the estate and have identified and implemented a range of procedures to maintain social distancing.

“We have recently installed clear signage across the estate and have reviewed areas where people may congregate to ensure everyone observes social distancing guidelines.

“We are working to ensure that we continue to meet the Government’s guidance on becoming a COVID-19 secure workplace.”

Source: UK Politics - www.independent.co.uk