ZERO COVID: The campaign to beat the pandemic, Bolton TUC motion

This Trades Union Council NOTES:

1. In a sudden sharp reversal of policy, the UK government has announced a second lockdown across England.
2. This on-off approach, without fixing the testing system or protecting people’s livelihoods, reveals a complete lack of a coherent UK strategy to eliminate the virus which obstructs devolved governments pursuing better policies.
3. By ignoring calls for an earlier circuit breaker from the government’s own scientific advisory body SAGE, Independent SAGE, trade unions, the Hazards workplace safety campaign, and the Labour Party, the government’s delay will lead to many more infections, hospitalisations, deaths, long term disabilities and lost livelihoods.

This Trades Union Council BELIEVES

1. That there is a simple alternative to this chaotic policy of ‘living with the virus’, with its on-off lockdowns, ineffectual testing programme and constant economic insecurity.
2. The alternative is the strategy currently in place in Australia, China, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and Vietnam, who have almost entirely eliminated the virus and whose citizens enjoy life without the need for draconian lockdown restrictions.
3. This means full lockdown and safe working conditions in essential workplaces until community transmission is near to zero, then suppression of small outbreaks via local public sector Find, Test, Trace, Isolate and Support, and 100% protection of livelihoods.
4. This is the ZERO COVID strategy recommended by Independent SAGE, Hazards and others, which offers a way forward to a UK with minimal Covid infection, injury, death and pandemic-related economic disruption.

This Trades Union Council RESOLVES

1. To campaign for the UK-wide implementation of a ZERO COVID strategy
2. To affiliate to the ZERO COVID campaign
3. To make a donation of £…. To the ZERO COVID campaign
4. To invite a speaker from the campaign to our next meeting
5. To encourage members to participate in the ZERO COVID campaign
6. To send this motion on to appropriate bodies (GMATUC, NW TUC, etc)

The ZERO COVID launch statement and affiliation form are appended to this motion.Further information is available from www.zerocovid.uk.