LISTEN: Union blames higher Covid death rates in hospitality on 'unscrupulous' bosses

By Q Radio News

Some hospitality bosses have been accused of cutting corners on COVID19 safety measures resulting in high death rates among workers. 

Official statistics show that the mortality rate among chefs is four times higher than the average worker  -with pub managers eight times more likely to die from the infection. 

Unite the union is calling on the Government to force employers - to provide full sick pay to staff needing to self-isolate. 

Hospitality organiser Neil Moore also wants legislation passed to allow roving trade union officials to check smaller and non-unionised workplaces are protected. 

“The latest figures provided by the ONS for England and Wales confirm fears among many hospitality workers locally that they face a much higher risk from the Covid-19 pandemic than many other types of worker,'' he says. 

“The average Covid-19 death rate for all occupations is 24 deaths per 100,000; the comparative figures for Chefs is more than four times higher at 103,

''Restaurant workers is almost five times higher 119, and the death rate among Pub Managers is an incredible eight times higher at 219.

''These statistics are a sickening confirmation of the risks faced by hospitality workers. They are all the more concerning as, by comparison to other sections of the workforce, most workers in this sector tend to be young and with low levels of illness or clinical vulnerabilities.''

“The scale of this divergence can only be explained by the failure of bosses and owners to take the action needed to protect hospitality workers.''

Mr Moore says the stats also reflect the failure of Ministers in Westminster and Stormont to provide meaningful protection to hospitality workers.

''Government has refused to make mandatory a full sick pay entitlement to all those who need to self-isolate or to tackle the precarity of employment leaving many workers with no choice but to work in unsafe conditions,'' he added. 

''They facilitated reopening before it was safe and without any requirement to secure workers’ agreement. We’ve witnessed unscrupulous employers consistently breaching COVID Health and Safety guidelines when lockdowns were lifted; most recently over Christmas.

“In light of the expected government announcement on quarantine hotels – employers must be forced to tighten up on Health and Safety and workplace infection control measures.

''Hospitality staff expected to work in such environments must be prioritised for vaccination.

''There needs to be a wider commitment to facilitate ‘roving’ union health and safety reps and to legislate them real powers to ensure workers’ safety in smaller and non-unionised workplaces, to protect the wider public health and the NHS.''

Unite has launched launched the ‘Make My Workplace Safe’ campaign which allows workers to report health and safety breaches and to take action collectively with their colleagues to make their workplace safer. 

It can be found at www.unitehospitality.org/makemyworkplacesafe