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TRADE UNIONS have threatened that workers may refuse to return to their jobs, and employers will face FINES if they do not make offices secure.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock revealed today that proposals are being considered to hit companies with penalties if they fail to organize acceptable workplaces.
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Speaking this morning, Hancock revealed that plans for the sanctions had already been drawn up.
Appearing on Sky News, he said: “There are discussions on that and there is a draft proposal, but I don’t want to prejudge those discussions that Alok Sharma is leading with the unions.
“There are already established rules that we have introduced to deal with the crisis.
“It’s about how we make sure that the rules that exist and the guidance that exists work practically on the ground for employers and also keep people safe.”
Mr. Hancock also revealed that there are ongoing talks with companies and unions about what rules should be in place to ensure “safe distancing.”
He added: “It is essential that employers offer safe workplaces. We have been working with large and small employers and unions to get these details right.
“As more people return to work, there are guidelines and rules in place so that workplaces can have safe distancing and social distancing in the workplace.”
The TUC union, which represents 5.5 million Britons, warned that staff could stay home if companies were not forced to create safe working environments.
His comments come when a number of unions criticize the nonbinding guidelines that allow employers to decide when it’s safe.
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Secretary General Frances O’Grady said: “Without a major government change, when the shutdown is eased, bad bosses will be able to expose their workers, and all of us, to infection without fear of the consequences.
“Any action they do not take will have an impact on infection rates in the areas where they are located. That is why ministers should require all employers with more than five employees to go further and publish their risk assessment and their action plan on its own website and on a government portal ”.
GMB union general secretary John Phillips added: “The guidance should be clear on how safe labor practice should be enforced, as it stands, there is nothing in the PPE, nothing in the app to ensure that places of jobs are safe and nothing that provides guarantees to workers need to return to their jobs.
“In its current form, this guideline does not adequately protect workers from exposure to Covid-19, and as a result, many may refuse to work to avoid putting themselves and their families at risk.”
This morning Sir Keir Starmer demanded a “national consensus” on the treatment of the coronavirus when the UK comes out of the shutdown.
The new Labor leader is calling for a “national security standard” for businesses and schools, saying the plans revealed yesterday were “rather vague.”
Today, The Sun revealed radical new measures to prevent the spread of the coronavirus in the workplace that will be in place for up to a year.
Screens between desks, consecutive sitting staff and a ban on hot desks and equipment swapping are some of the moves employers must introduce when the lock is lifted.
The new measures, proposed in draft documents on the return to the workplace, also require staggered shifts to avoid overcrowding on public transport.
It means that home work is likely to become default for millions of Britons for the foreseeable future.
The prime minister will reveal his “road map” outside the shutdown this Sunday.
Last week, Boris Johnson announced that the public will be asked to wear face masks when closure measures are lifted as they are “useful.”
The prime minister confirmed The Sun’s story that scientists have advised that they may have an effect to stop the spread of the error.
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