This video was produced by the Safe and Equal campaign. For more information see this link.
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Month: August 2020
Today is A Level results day. We would first like to congratulate all those young people who have studied in incredibly difficult circumstances.
Sadly the results have been overshadowed by controversy. As it was not possible to sit exams, the results were largely determined by teachers’ recommendations moderated through an algorithm. Around forty percent of such recommendations appear to have been downgraded.
Dr Mary Bousted, joint General Secretary of the National Education Union, notes that the politics of results season 2020 has drowned out the most important point – that students must be congratulated for their hard work and patience through a difficult time for the whole nation. Teachers and school and college leaders have tried their best, during a time of great uncertainty, to support and help the young people they teach. They have been let down by a poor system and last-minute political decisions.
Anecdotal evidence is emerging that schools with a higher proportion of disadvantaged students are seeing their results downgraded disproportionately. It is clear that there needs to be full transparency about the methods used to produce results and whether working class communities have been treated particularly badly. Compounding the problem, those seeking to appeal their grades must pay between £111.75, and £186.15. This may be peanuts if your parents have well-paid jobs in the financial sector but is a lot of money for many.
Inevitably there will be young people today who will not get into the university of their choice, while even those who obtained the grades they had hoped for may find that uncertainty about the process hinders them in their future careers.
The Labour Party recognises that existing inequalities are reinforced by the nature of education in contemporary Britain. It is a tragedy that we were not given the opportunity to develop a National Education Service with the aim of developing a more equal and properly funded education system from pre-school onwards as a cornerstone of the society we wish to build.
The proposal to redevelop 1 – 4 River Walk has just been overwhelmingly rejected by the Borough’s Area One Planning Committee. Many thanks to all those who wrote to the Local Authority’s Planning Department or contacted their councillors to oppose the scheme.
Unfortunately this is not the end of the process. The decision can only be deferred while legal advice is obtained in light of the advice given by the planning officials.
The Conservative Government lurches between contradictory statements as its mishandling of the Covid-19 crisis puts it firmly in the position of having performed worse than any other European administration. Over 46,000 have died in the UK while Germany, with a significantly higher population, has lost around 9,000. We still do not have an effective Track and Trace system. The messages seem inconsistent. Why, for example, is is fine to go to a pub but not meet your neighbour for a cup of tea?
In contrast the Trades Union Congress and many individual trade unions have provided helpful guidance and collectively campaigned to put the health of workers ahead of the ego of the Prime Minister and Dominic Cummings.
The scientific guidance remains that people should continue to work from home if this at all possible. Not only does this prevent staff from possibly contracting it at work, it also frees up space on public transport.
Unfortunately the government is trying to force its own workers back and encourage private companies to do the same. The TUC has provided useful advice about :
Taking steps to reduce infection
Personal Protective Equipment
Safe staff levels
Travelling to and from work
Workers at higher risk
Black and minority ethnic workers
Mental health
Workers should also remember that all are protected by Section 44 of the Employment Rights Act 1996. This states that:
(d) in circumstances of danger which the employee reasonably believed to be serious and imminent and which he could not reasonably have been expected to avert, he left (or proposed to leave) or (while the danger persisted) refused to return to his place of work or any dangerous part of his place of work, or
(e) in circumstances of danger which the employee reasonably believed to be serious and imminent, he took (or proposed to take) appropriate steps to protect himself or other persons from the danger.
Essentially it is legal to withdraw your labour if you believe that you are in a position whereby your health is currently at serious risk. It is a step which needs to be considered carefully and the guidance here is useful.
The TUC also has wider objectives to support working families at this time.
- ensure that business support measures are conditional on support for jobs. This can’t just be a bailout for boardrooms.
- fix the sick pay system to provide better sick pay for all.
- introduce targeted support for parents who need to take time out of work to care for kids
- provide more help to families – and a stimulus to the economy
- bring together a taskforce of unions and employers to help co-ordinate the national effort.