{"id":21090,"date":"2020-04-28T12:23:55","date_gmt":"2020-04-28T11:23:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/unitelive.org\/?p=21090"},"modified":"2020-04-28T15:21:20","modified_gmt":"2020-04-28T14:21:20","slug":"honour-lives-lost","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/?p=21090","title":{"rendered":"‘Honour lives lost’"},"content":{"rendered":"
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International Workers\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 Memorial Day today (April 28) will hit hard for many key workers like bus workers, who\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve risked their lives transporting other essential workers like NHS staff to and from work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Already more than 20 bus workers have died from coronavirus in London alone, with the death toll outside the capital climbing too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today bus workers in London and across the UK observed a minute\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s silence at 11am to honour their colleagues who have paid the ultimate price \u00e2\u20ac\u201c often without the adequate protective kit and safety measures they so desperately needed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Unite bus workers observe minute’s silence at Walworth depot in London<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Mustafa, who is a Unite convenor at Camberwell garage in London, spoke to UniteLIVE this morning and said all bus drivers were given the opportunity today to participate, whether they were in depots for breaks or not.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bFor those bus drivers out on the road, controllers alerted bus drivers a few minutes before 11 so that they could stop at their nearest bus stop and observe the minute\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s silence,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he explained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mustafa said that there was a lot of anxiety among bus driver colleagues as they continue to work through the epidemic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bTensions are high amid this crisis after we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve lost so many members, especially given the shortage of PPE at the beginning of the crisis. There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a sense of anger that these deaths could have been prevented. I myself was very close friends with one bus driver in Battersea who died \u00e2\u20ac\u201c it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s really hit us all hard.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Bus drivers in London honour their fallen colleauges<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

He highlighted the many health and safety measures Unite has secured with TfL and the bus companies, from hand sanitiser provision to regular cleaning of the buses and the closure of front doors so that passengers don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t come into contact with drivers, among many other measures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While he and other bus workers have welcomed such action on health and safety, Mustafa urged the bus companies to continue to make safety a top priority.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bWe need to continue to be vigilant and take every step we can to make sure all bus workers are safe amid this crisis by increasing hygiene and strengthening the measures we do have in place \u00e2\u20ac\u201c we cannot simply rest on laurels and think \u00e2\u20ac\u0098job done\u00e2\u20ac\u2122,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he said. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bWe do not want to lose any more of our brothers and sisters.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nothing can now bring back the lives of those members in their bus family that they have lost, but Mustafa told UniteLIVE that they must get the recognition they deserve.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bBus workers have sacrificed their lives to help others,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he said. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bIt is important to highlight that, just like NHS workers, they put their lives on the line at a time of crisis \u00e2\u20ac\u201c we are the ones who are transporting NHS staff to hospitals so we are very much part of the national effort to save lives. The government must do all it can to honour these lives lost.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mustafa welcomed the news that the families of NHS and social care workers who have lost their lives amid the crisis will receive state compensation of \u00c2\u014160,000 \u00e2\u20ac\u201c and added this should be me extended to bus and other transport workers too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThis is one important way that the state can recognise fallen bus workers\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 sacrifices, by providing for their bereaved families,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he said. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bIt is my hope that the government reviews compensation to include all key workers.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And this is precisely what Unite will be lobbying for now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Commenting, Unite regional secretary for London Pete Kavanagh said, \u00e2\u20ac\u015bWe would like to see this \u00c2\u014160,000 grant to the families of those that have died in the NHS and social care settings extended to the families of bus drivers and other employees of TfL, as they are also key workers in the frontline in the battle against the coronavirus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 \u00e2\u20ac\u015bUnfortunately, we have lost far too many members of the London bus \u00e2\u20ac\u0098family\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 \u00e2\u20ac\u201c and their relatives and dependents need maximum support to help them rebuild their lives,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 \u00e2\u20ac\u015bThere is also a further question whether a lump sum of \u00c2\u014160,000 is enough to replace the lost lifetime earnings of a worker who has succumbed to Covid-19 \u00e2\u20ac\u201c we believe it is not enough and that the government should build financially on this welcome first step.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 \u00e2\u20ac\u015bConsideration by ministers also needs to be given other key workers across the UK, such as those employed by supermarkets and local councils, who are also under threat as they perform their vital duties in keeping the country running as smoothly as possible during this national emergency.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mustafa had one final message on International Workers\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 Memorial Day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bMy condolences go out to all the friends and families of those who have lost loved ones in this crisis,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he said. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bWe must continue to make health and safety a top priority for all workers \u00e2\u20ac\u201c so that no one has to go through the pain and suffering that so many already have.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

International Workers\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 Memorial Day today (April 28) will hit hard for many key workers like bus workers, who\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve risked their lives transporting other essential workers like NHS staff to and from work. Already more than 20 bus workers have died from coronavirus in London alone, with the death toll outside the capital climbing too. Today […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":21059,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1308,17],"tags":[],"wps_subtitle":"IWMD latest: Fallen bus drivers must get recognition they deserve","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21090"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=21090"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21090\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21103,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21090\/revisions\/21103"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/21059"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=21090"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=21090"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=21090"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}