Shadow Chancellor Anneliese Dodds said on Friday that the Conservative government has not done enough to ensure "all workplaces are really safe" amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The Labour frontbencher told LBC's Shelagh Fogarty that she was "concerned that we don't seem to have the kind of focus on this that there was during the first lockdown."
"Of course, very sadly we have the new variant of Covid now, which is more transmissible," she added.
"There doesn't seem to have been an effort by Government to catch up around this, to make sure that all workplaces really are safe."
Dodds said she had spoken "to many businesses who have worked incredibly hard to make sure that they're safe. I don't want to downplay that because it has been an enormous effort."
"But we really do need to make sure that's applying right across the economy. It's very important indeed," she said.
Shadow Chancellor Anneliese Dodds argues there doesn't seem to have been an effort by Government "to make sure that all workplaces really are safe". Do you agree with her?@ShelaghFogarty │ @AnnelieseDodds pic.twitter.com/ivLwDQWWV4
— LBC (@LBC) January 15, 2021
This comes amid accusations that the government has failed to provide adequate support for people to work from home during the second lockdown, which is risking higher rates of infection.
All businesses including non-essential shops, pubs and restaurants, and entertainment venues have been ordered to shut under the United Kingdom's new lockdown regulations.
Workers in the construction sector have complained that they are still being asked to go into work despite the lockdown rules.
The UK government is encouraging construction staff to work on-site, saying that “this is essential to keeping the country operating and supporting sectors and employees.”
However, many workers in the industry report feeling “let down and forgotten” as coronavirus infections sweep across the country, and are demanding sites be shut to prevent further spread of the virus.
Will, a supervisor for construction sites in southeast England, said that many of his colleagues do not feel safe traveling to and from work sites.
“A lot of the construction industry just feel so let down and forgotten during this second wave,” he said.
“Like most construction workers, we are concerned about losing our jobs or even just looking bad to our companies by calling for sites to close to stop the spread."
He explained that while protective equipment is provided, it's "impossible to keep people apart” as sites have limited space and trains in major cities remain crowded. Will called on the government to close all "non-essential" sites.
This follows footage circulating online of commuters boarding packed tube trains in London’s Canning Town underground station on Thursday morning.
They’re going to work because current lockdown rules expect them to go to work, which is why the attempt to blame individuals for flouting exercise rules for high infection rates is so absurd and indeed offensive https://t.co/qxcSP265tX
— Owen Jones 🌹 (@OwenJones84) January 14, 2021
