Skip to main content
Work with the NEU
Exempted workers must be kept safe, unions warn
Confusion over half-baked emergency measures self-inflicted, ministers told
A message to self-isolate, with one day of required isolation remaining, is displayed on the NHS coronavirus contact tracing app on a mobile phone

WORKERS exempted from quarantine must have confidence that their workplaces are Covid-safe, unions demanded today.

As the government sparked confusion with its announcement of emergency measures to excuse “critical” workers from self-isolation if “pinged” by the NHS Covid app, unions slammed the government’s failure to consult those at the sharp end.

Ministers had indicated that firms in some front-line sectors as well as local authorities could apply to use daily testing of workers as an alternative to self-isolation.

The 95th Anniversary Appeal
Support the Morning Star
You have reached the free limit.
Subscribe to continue reading.
Similar stories
Train drivers from the Aslef union on the picket line at Euston station in London, as they are launching a wave of fresh walkouts in a long-running dispute over pay. Train drivers at 16 rail companies are holding a rolling programme of one-day walkouts between April 5 and 8, coupled with a six-day ban on overtime. Picture date: Friday April 5, 2024
TUC Congress 2025 / 8 September 2025
8 September 2025

On the eve of the 157th Trades Union Congress, MICK WHELAN, general secretary of Aslef, the train drivers’ union, celebrates victory in his campaign to get dignity for drivers at work

Joanne Thomas campaigning for safe shopwork
Durham Miners’ Gala 2025 / 12 July 2025
12 July 2025

Incoming Usdaw general secretary JOANNE THOMAS talks to Ben Chacko about workers’ rights, Labour and how to arrest the decline of the high street