Below is a model letter you can print out and hand deliver to your neighbours before the weekly clap for carers. The latest scientific evidence suggests Coronavirus cannot be transmitted by paper but we advise you take normal precautions (hand gel, mask etc). You can also send out an electronic copy of the letter or your own version on your local mutual aid group.
Campaign for sick and isolation pay for all
Dear Neighbour,
Every Thursday we stand on our doorsteps clapping for keyworkers. Beyond clapping there is more we can do to support our keyworkers. There is now a growing demand from keyworkers for full sick and self-isolation pay for all. We all have an interest in making this happen and we can all play our part.
Hundreds of thousands of keyworkers, including in the NHS and in social care, are on zero hours contracts and similar with no ordinary rights to paid sick leave. If these workers, who are often the lowest paid, get Coronavirus symptoms or a member or their family get Coronavirus symptoms then many will not be able to afford to follow public health advice to self-isolate. Already there have been reports in the press of workers attending work with signs of Coronavirus infection because they cannot afford to stop working.
This is a problem not just for these workers but for everyone working alongside them and the wider public. To slow the spread of COVID19 all essential workers need the right to follow public health advice without suffering financial hardship.
NHS Employers have recognised that workers’ rights to full isolation pay is “essential” for “infection control purposes”. If it is essential in the NHS then it is essential for all keyworkers going about their duties at this time: food production and distribution, transport, logistics, delivery, social care, utilities, manufacturing and the large numbers of security and cleaning staff who work across all sectors.
In the last few weeks, through collective action, many workers have won full sick and self isolation pay for all. In the NHS, London Underground and elsewhere, we are winning safer workplaces and improved workers’ rights for all. We are campaigning to build on these successes and ensure that when this pandemic is over, we retain the rights we have won and have stronger trade union organisation to win further gains for all.
What you can do:
Go to the campaign website www.safeandequal.org to sign the petition and find many ways to take action on this issue. If you are a keyworker, get in touch about organising around this issue at work.
Stay safe!
From [Your neighbour at number xx]
Safe and Equal 