‘Bus drivers must be fully protected’. With five dead, unions demand government action.

A London red bus


Support us and go ad-free

Five London bus workers have now died of coronavirus (Covid-19), according to a trade union. Unite said the deaths were a “terrible tragedy”.

Tragedy

Regarding the deaths, regional secretary of Unite Peter Kavanagh said:

Unite will assist the families of our members in every possible way during this terrible time.

Unite has been working continuously with Transport for London (TfL) and the operators to ensure the safety of drivers and others in the industry who are performing a heroic job in getting NHS and care workers to their places of work.

Unite tweeted:

People on Twitter paid their respects to the key workers who have died:https://twitter.com/ShellyAsquith/status/1246441717705977856?s=20https://twitter.com/johannhari101/status/1246453585417842688?s=20

Safety

Regarding the safety of their key workers, Kavanagh said:

[Safety] measures include deep cleaning of buses, additional cleaning of touch points, the sealing of screens around the driver, the provision of hand sanitiser for all and placing the passenger seating closest to the driver out of bounds.

I have been in direct contact with the Mayor of London who shares our view that bus drivers must be fully protected.

My officers are holding daily meetings with TfL, exploring further safety improvements and we are absolutely committed to doing everything in our power to make the driving of buses safe during this unprecedented crisis.

We are also calling on the Government to make provisions for transport workers in terms of personal protective equipment.

As The Canary has reported, the lack of personal protective equipment is an issue that’s also affecting the NHS.

Support us and go ad-free

We need your help to keep speaking the truth

Every story that you have come to us with; each injustice you have asked us to investigate; every campaign we have fought; each of your unheard voices we amplified; we do this for you. We are making a difference on your behalf.

Our fight is your fight. You’ve supported our collective struggle every time you gave us a like; and every time you shared our work across social media. Now we need you to support us with a monthly donation.

We have published nearly 2,000 articles and over 50 films in 2021. And we want to do this and more in 2022 but we don’t have enough money to go on at this pace. So, if you value our work and want us to continue then please join us and be part of The Canary family.

In return, you get:

* Advert free reading experience
* Quarterly group video call with the Editor-in-Chief
* Behind the scenes monthly e-newsletter
* 20% discount in our shop

Almost all of our spending goes to the people who make The Canary’s content. So your contribution directly supports our writers and enables us to continue to do what we do: speaking truth, powered by you. We have weathered many attempts to shut us down and silence our vital opposition to an increasingly fascist government and right-wing mainstream media.

With your help we can continue:

* Holding political and state power to account
* Advocating for the people the system marginalises
* Being a media outlet that upholds the highest standards
* Campaigning on the issues others won’t
* Putting your lives central to everything we do

We are a drop of truth in an ocean of deceit. But we can’t do this without your support. So please, can you help us continue the fight?

The Canary Support us

Related articles