GMB has called on Ministers to prioritise school support staff
for vaccine access on the same basis as teachers.
The current official advice to Government says that
teachers could be identified for early roll-out of the vaccine,
with no reference to school support staff.
Teaching assistants, caretakers, lunch-time
supervisorsand other school support staff make up the majority of
workers in schools, GMB said in a letter to Education Secretary
and
, Health Secretary.
School support staff regularly perform tasks that
inherently involve risk of exposure, such as administering food,
medication, and restraints. As well as working closely with
children they are more likely to live in the communities that
they serve.
In the letter, GMB drew attention to the latest ONS
occupational exposure data in schools, which indicate that
infection rates were higher among support staff than primary or
secondary school teachers between early September and
mid-October.
It is essential the immunization programme gives
equal weight to all those who work in schools if the community
transmission associated with schools is to be ended, the letter
says.
Karen Leonard, GMB National Officer,
said:
“This is about common sense, and common
decency.
“First, it would be self-defeating to not make the
vaccine available to the majority of those who work in schools –
it just won’t work.
“Second, school staff have made heroic sacrifices
during the pandemic and some of them have lost their lives due to
occupational exposure, and they are more likely to be on low
incomes.
“They’ve rightly been recognised as key workers who
helped keep schools going.
"Surely they deserve the same protections as their
teacher colleagues.
“We urge Ministers to urgently review the evidence
and give equal weighting to all those who work in schools as part
of any wider occupational vaccination programme.”
ENDS
Media enquiries: GMB Press Office on
07958 156846 or at press.office@gmb.org.uk
Notes to Editors:
[1] Copies of letters here:
https://www.gmb.org.uk/sites/default/files/gmb_vaccines_letter_to_dfe_sos141220.pdf.pdf
https://www.gmb.org.uk/sites/default/files/gmb_vaccines_letter_to_dhsc_sos141220.pdf
