BRITAIN’S biggest unions will not support the government’s back-to-work plans until ministers can guarantee the safety of workers, their leaders said at the weekend. 

The general secretaries of Unison, Unite, GMB and Usdaw, along with the TUC, warned Prime Minister Boris Johnson that they will not recommend millions of their members to return to work unless the “right policies and practices are in place to make workplaces safe.”

In a joint letter to the Observer on Saturday, Unison’s Dave Prentis, Len McCluskey of Unite, acting GMB leader TUC John Phillips, Usdaw’s Paddy Lillis and TUC head Frances O’Grady pointed out that many of their members have died from the virus while keeping the country running. 

To prevent more deaths, they are calling on the government to impose sanctions on rogue bosses who fail to create a safe working environment for their employees.

“One bad employer who plays fast and loose with safety not only puts those workers and their families in danger — they put public transport workers and whole communities at risk of infection too,” the union leaders wrote. 

They also called for every employer to carry out thorough risk assessments and inform staff of the measures they have taken to make workplaces safe. 

The union leaders continued: “The trade-union movement wants to be able to recommend the government’s back-to-work plans.

“But for us to do that, we need to ensure that ministers have listened and that we stay safe and save lives at work too.”

The warning came ahead of Mr Johnson’s speech today, in which he unveiled a change in the government slogan on coronavirus from “stay at home” to “stay alert.” 

Speaking to Sky News’s Sophie Ridge, Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick suggested that the shift was intended to “encourage” people to return to their jobs. 

“We are not going to take risks with the public, and I understand people are anxious about the future, but we want now to have a message that encourages people to go back to work,” he said. 

Polls suggest, however, that anxiety about returning to work is extremely high. 

The TUC warned last week that it would require a huge public-awareness campaign to ensure that people know their rights when returning to very different working conditions.