{"id":21914,"date":"2020-06-04T15:44:20","date_gmt":"2020-06-04T14:44:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/unitelive.org\/?p=21914"},"modified":"2020-06-04T16:41:37","modified_gmt":"2020-06-04T15:41:37","slug":"coming-home-to-roost-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/?p=21914","title":{"rendered":"‘Coming home to roost’"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>\n\n

The coronavirus itself may not discriminate along race or class lines, but because we live in a deeply unequal society, the end result is the same \u00e2\u20ac\u201c Black and Asian ethnic minority (BAEM) communities have borne the brunt of the pandemic, just as they bear the brunt of police brutality, of austerity and of so many of the other injustices that plague the UK and the globe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Previous studies have already shown that BAEM people are at greater risk of death from coronavirus — a new report out from Public Health England (PHE) this week again confirms this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The report stops short of explaining why exactly, groups of BAEM communities are twice as likely to die from coronavirus as their white counterparts. And it has been rightly criticised for failing to put forward any recommendations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In an Urgent Question this morning (June 4) raised by Labour MP Gill Furniss, the equalities minister Kemi Badenoch confirmed that the report failed to put forward any plan to tackle the race inequalities driving higher mortality rates in BAEM people<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now it has emerged that some organisations\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 submissions, such as the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB), were axed from the report before publication<\/a> \u00e2\u20ac\u201c and many of these highlighted the role of structural racism that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s driving the higher death rates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Commenting on the news, Unite national officer for equalities Harish Patel said, \u00e2\u20ac\u015bLet\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s be clear \u00e2\u20ac\u201c BAEM people are dying in greater numbers amid this pandemic and while this report rightly highlights the data, data alone isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t going to change anything and it isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t going to save lives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bWe are disappointed that the government reportedly axed submissions from BAEM groups who stood up to call out the structural racism that plagues our institutions and which could very well be the driving force behind the racially disparate heightened mortality risk of Covid-19.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bMost urgently, we need to look at ethnically sensitive risk assessments to protect our BAEM communities, many of whom work in frontline, public-facing roles which put them in the line of danger,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bIn the long-term, when the post-pandemic public inquiry takes place, there must be a reckoning with how systemic racism leads to the health inequalities that our BAEM communities face.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the government continues to face criticism over its handling of the pandemic especially in relation to BAEM communities this week, UniteLIVE also caught up with other leaders in the union who are from BAEM communities to hear what they had to say.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0098We can no longer ignore racism\u00e2\u20ac\u2122<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unite executive council member James Mitchell, who is also a Unite workplace rep and London bus driver, says he believes that part of what\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s driving the higher rates of mortality among ethnic minority communities is the simple fact that they are much more likely to be on the frontline amid the pandemic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThose who are on the frontline of the crisis \u00e2\u20ac\u201c whether it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s bus drivers, nurses, care workers and others in lower-paid, typically public service roles \u00e2\u20ac\u201c are much more likely to be from ethnic minority or migrant backgrounds. If you look at the rates of those working in the London transport sector alone, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s something like 40 per cent are BAEM or from a migrant background.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bBut then you look at the management structure of those organisations and they are all predominantly white. We talk about glass ceilings for women but we also must talk about glass ceilings for BAEM people. BAEM people have been failed in not being given the opportunity to break out of these lower-paid and \u00e2\u20ac\u201c especially amid this pandemic – much more dangerous roles.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unite BAEM executive council member rep Susan Matthews, who is also the union\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s branch secretary at Lambeth council, also highlighted structural racism and the poorer life chances BAEM people face because of discrimination.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThe PHE report didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t tell us something new; rather it tells us what we already know \u00e2\u20ac\u201c that BAEM people and communities are the hardest hit by Covid-19,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 she said. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bIt confirms that \u00e2\u20ac\u0098the impact of COVID-19 has replicated existing health inequalities and, in some cases, has increased them\u00e2\u20ac\u2122. To that end, it is clear that socio-economic disadvantage \u00e2\u20ac\u0098charted\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 by systemic racism is a factor in the disproportionate impact of Covid19 on BAEM people and communities.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bWe can no longer ignore the barriers of discrimination and structural racism that exist in our society as it has finally come home to roost.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Class and race issue<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Both James and Susan felt strongly that the intersection of class and race was a major issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bAs the report confirmed, the mortality rates from COVID-19 in the most deprived areas were more than double the least deprived areas, for both males and females,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 Susan pointed out. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bMost BAEM people live in deprived areas and so this highlights another area of inequality driving higher Covid-19 death rates among BAEM people.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While Susan highlighted data in the report showing people of Bangladeshi communities were twice as likely to die from Covid-19 compared to white British people, and that other specific BAEM groups  all faced a heightened risk of between 10 to 50 per cent, Susan also noted what the report failed to capture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThe data is very worrying considering these analyses did not account for the effect of occupation, comorbidities or obesity,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

James added, \u00e2\u20ac\u015bIf you look at the people who are working in those working-class, frontline roles, many of them are from BAEM communities, so there is definitely a class element to this.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Susan called on the government to take action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThis latest finding is consistent with other studies regarding the disparities in the risk and outcomes from COVID-19 and BAEM groups when compared to White ethnic groups so I believe it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for the government to take a bold step in addressing socio-economic inequalities,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

James noted that the government must ensure that once the pandemic subsides, substantive action is taken on promotional regimes to ensure that more BAEM people are given the opportunity to upskill and break out of low-paid jobs. He said the union had a role to play in helping its members access education.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But he also added that any strides we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve made in health and safety in these frontline roles must be maintained post-pandemic, and that people in these jobs must be valued, with better pay and terms and conditions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bWe as a union have got to make sure that the people who are keeping this country moving are not going to be the first people who are going to lose their jobs. One minute we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re key workers who are clapped for, but once this is all over, if we work say in the NHS, are we going to get a proper pay rise? Are bus drivers going to get their rest breaks, their toilet facilities? Or are we going to simply say \u00e2\u20ac\u201c well the pandemic is over so it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s back to normal?\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Susan also believes Unite has a big role to play in supporting BAEM communities at a time when they are at greater risk of death.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bIt\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s vital that Unite maintains the role it is currently playing during this pandemic by continuing to \u00e2\u20ac\u0098signpost\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 the government and relevant authorities to best practices and to campaign robustly against socio-economic inequality especially in health care provision where some groups receive better and more professional care compared to others,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

No going back<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Both Susan and James agreed that the protests now blanketing the US over the killing of George Floyd at the hands of police can serve as a turning point to transform societies riven by systemic racism – in the same way that the global Covid-19 pandemic can be the impetus for social change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bWe have a chance here to change our environment, to better our health and safety and to change our unjust laws and policing. Let\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s take this opportunity. We\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve got to look at both justice and equality for all \u00e2\u20ac\u201c we can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have one without the other.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Susan agreed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bIt\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s very hard to move on as a human being after seeing what happened to George Floyd \u00e2\u20ac\u201c an unarmed man killed solely because of the colour of his skin,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bWe have often seen cases of police brutality against blacks in the USA but to kneel on someone\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s neck and be indifferent to that person\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s call that they can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t breathe shined more light on the institutionalised racism in the USA.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bWhen you add this incident to the data that confirmed that the majority of the Covid-19 deaths in the USA are blacks, then the fact is crystal clear \u00e2\u20ac\u201c the Covid-19 pandemic and the brutal killing of George Floyd are linked \u00e2\u20ac\u201c they are both results of systemic racism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bBut I am hopeful that something meaningful would come out of this as I have no doubt that we cannot go back from where we are today to what it was yesterday. People have chosen to stand up and be counted.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Hajera Blagg<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The coronavirus itself may not discriminate along race or class lines, but because we live in a deeply unequal society, the end result is the same \u00e2\u20ac\u201c Black and Asian ethnic minority (BAEM) communities have borne the brunt of the pandemic, just as they bear the brunt of police brutality, of austerity and of so […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":21915,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1308,17],"tags":[1010,1295],"wps_subtitle":"Gov\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t must fight systemic racism as BAEM people face greater death risk from Covid-19","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21914"}],"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=21914"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21914\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21931,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21914\/revisions\/21931"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/21915"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=21914"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=21914"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=21914"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}