GMB Scotland Open Letter to First Minister Nicola Sturgeon

GMB Scotland Open Letter to First Minister Nicola Sturgeon

We are front line care workers. We work every hour of the day to keep your family safe and provide essential care. When most people are at home during this COVID-19 crisis we are leaving our families to go to work, looking after those who have no one else and who are our most in need.

We will not let our clients down but we are being let down by our employers and by Government.

We do not feel safe at work. You have lost our confidence by publishing guidance without consultation with front line workers and by forcing us to work with insufficient PPE.

By not giving us the PPE we need and by not testing front line workers, we are being forced to put not only ourselves but our family and our clients at risk. Some of our colleagues are sick and some will sadly die due to this gross negligence.

By not putting in place safe systems of work with trade unions, you have lost our confidence. We need these in place urgently and for them to be constantly reviewed with trade unions.

Front line workers are best placed to judge what we need to keep us safe. Listen to us and listen to our trade unions and give us the PPE and testing we need to help save lives.

Signatories: