Weekly Update – Friday 09 April 2021

Amnesty International released their yearly report this week, in which they highlighted the backwards steps the UK is taking on human rights under this Government. The report looked at a number of key areas including health, arms sales and access to justice. One key area of concern was the high number of deaths from Covid-19 and the over representation of people of Black and Asian ethnicity among those figures. In addition, the report highlighted the failure of the Government to address the root causes of the Windrush scandal as well as the Domestic Abuse Bill’s failure to ensure safety and access to justice for migrant women.

The backwards slide on human rights has not been limited to the domestic front. Amnesty International raises serious concerns about the Government’s decision to continue killing civilians in Yemen by selling vast amounts of arms to Saudi Arabia. The Government’s recent Overseas Operations Bill would also restrict prosecutions for offences committed overseas including, torture and war crimes.

It’s clear that Boris Johnson feels emboldened enough to begin rolling back human rights protections both in the UK and internationally. There is a great deal of damage being done which may take years to repair.

NHS workers deserve a 15% payrise

I’m proud to support calls by Nurses United and EveryDoctor for a 15% across-the-board NHS pay rise. The Government’s recent decision to cut the pay of NHS workers in real terms was a disgrace and showed exactly where their priorities lay. While the Chancellor was happy to waste billions on dodgy contracts with private companies, he was unwilling to even start undoing the cuts his Government has inflicted on NHS workers over the last 11 years.

A 15% pay increase for NHS workers would make a real dent in the years and years of pay cuts which NHS workers have had to endure since 2010. Any pay increase needs to recognise not only the huge sacrifice made by NHS workers during this pandemic but also the need to repair the damage done over the last decade.  Anything less would be a failure.

BT Group Workers deserve better

This week I wrote to the CEO of BT Group, Mr Philip Jansen, to urge him to get around the table with the Communication Workers Union (CWU) and abandon his reckless proposals to freeze workers’ pay and make thousands of other workers redundant. Throughout this pandemic BT, Openreach and EE employees have continued working to keep us connected and online. Without them,  many of us would have been unable to work from home or keep in contact with loved ones during this difficult period.

Whilst the pandemic has been a disaster for many businesses, BT Group has faired relatively well and continues to make billions of post-tax profit for its shareholders and Mr Jansen. But rather than ensuring his workers benefit from those profits, Mr Jansen is looking to increase profits at the expense of workers and the services which BT Group provide. This is morally wrong and I wish the CWU and its members luck in trying to push BT Group to see sense.

Deliveroo Strike

Solidarity to all the Deliveroo drivers who went on strike on Wednesday, fighting for better pay and safety. Deliveroo traded on the London Stock Exchange for the first time this week, potentially making its leading executives millions in profit. Yet much of that profit is clearly the result of exploitation. Deliveroo drivers can often make as little as £2 an hour with Deliveroo refusing to adhere to basic working practices. This is unacceptable and much needs to be done to tackle the gig economy and ensure that companies cannot attempt to exploit loopholes to deprive their workers of their employment rights. This is a bigger fight that needs to take place and I support the Deliveroo workers for playing their part in that fight.

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Thank you for taking the time to read my latest update, if you have any issues that you would like to raise directly with me then please do email  edmontonconstituency@parliament.uk. I’m always happy to help whenever possible.

Kind regards,

Kate Osamor MP