The TUC has issued this appeal for support for workers who will suffer financial penalties for self isolating for coronavirus picking up a theme I first addressed last week. I think signing is a simple necessity:
As the coronavirus spreads, millions of workers could have to go into quarantine or self-isolation to prevent the further spread of the virus.
But nearly 2 million UK workers do not qualify for statutory sick pay, including 1 in 10 working women and 23% of zero-hours contract workers. No one should worry about falling into debt or struggling to pay their bills when they're ill or have to self-isolate.
The government must:
- Give every worker the right to statutory sick pay from the first day of absence
- Scrap the minimum earnings threshold for statutory sick pay
- Ensure that sick pay is paid to workers having to self-isolate
It shouldn't take a pandemic to resolve the inequality of sick pay.
If thousands of us make our voice heard, the government will have to act
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Based on the ‘cases so far’ figure this is a bigger issue in France and Germany, not to mention Italy.
What systems do they have in place to deal with the people who have to isolate, and can’t work while self-isolated, and can’t draw any pay, and don’t have other resources to fall back on?
If we want to claim to be pro-European we should be looking at what systems they have. No need to mention Hong Kong.
Sol Campbell says:
“If we want to claim to be pro-European we should be looking at what systems they have. ”
What a curious argument. Having taken the steps necessary to keep the UK out of the Euro currency union we should shackle ourselves to the strictures of being in it. (?)
Having decided upon Brexit we should eschew its advantages. (not that there seem to be many, we didn’t have four years ago)
You’ve lost me, Sol.
And me…
24 days sick pay guaranteed in France if you’ve come from at risk zone, or live in a cluster area.
It works for people who have contacted emergency services and have been told to self-isolate as well as for people who have to be isolated once diagnosed.
I have a friend (a French A&E GP) who is in isolation at home right now. Instructed to take temperature twice a day and contacted by phone once a day by the hospital she works for.
Food etc…delivered at the door.
It’s so sensible because it gives people jobs!!! A caring society looks after its people and rewards them well for doing so.
‘The people’ looking after ‘the people’ so to speak. And Macron seems to to want to break it. And the EU – they’ve not exactly helping – well – the ECB in particular.
I don’t know………………….!