THE official inquiry into the Covid-19 pandemic must include a focus on workplace safety and enforcement, the TUC argued today.

The union body said Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s draft terms of reference for the probe, expected to start later this year, should be expanded to include workers’ voices, particularly those who remained in workplaces.

They faced greater risks and were adversely impacted by a lack of adequate personal protective equipment and poor enforcement of rules designed to keep staff safe, it said. 

A public consultation on the possible contents of the inquiry, set to be chaired by former High Court judge Baroness Hallett, closed on Thursday.

The probe will examine Britain’s preparedness for a pandemic, the public health response to the virus and the government’s economic support for businesses and jobs, the Cabinet Office confirmed last month.

Unions have welcomed Baroness Hallett’s commitment to “consultation and transparency” and her pledge to examine the unequal impacts of the crisis on different sectors of the population, such as black and minority ethnic (BME) and disabled workers.

But the TUC said it had urged the consultation to also look at workplace issues as a key consideration.

General secretary Frances O’Grady said: “Everyone has a right to be safe at work.

“The threat of workplace infections was not insurmountable, but many workers were put at unacceptable risk – especially key workers on the front line.

“The inquiry must take a deep dive into workplace safety, especially into those workplaces and sectors where outbreaks occurred and where government Covid safety rules fell short.

“And the inquiry must look in detail into how some workers – especially [BME], disabled and women workers – were particularly hard hit.

“Everyone must be heard for real lessons to be learned.”

Caoilfhionn Gallagher QC, who leads the TUC’s legal team, added: “The Covid-19 pandemic and the response to it has had an impact on almost every aspect of our daily lives.

“The terms of reference must reflect this if the inquiry is to be fit for purpose.”

But the PM’s current terms of reference are “limited and overlook key issues of profound public concern,” he argued. 

“Sectors which were severely impacted during the pandemic, such as education, transport, retail, manufacturing, construction and the creative industries, have been omitted,” he said. “This must change.”

Industrial reporter @TrinderMatt