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11.05.2020 / News / Covid-19

UVW steps up to the plate and protects its members by distributing surgical masks across London

UVW members, activists and staff stepped up to the plate today to protect UVW members who had been left without sufficient PPE by the government and unscrupulous employers.

Last week UVW sourced 2000 high quality surgical masks from a transnational mutual aid network and today our members began distributing these masks across 125 London locations.

The masks will be used by UVW members working as chefs, carers, cleaners, kitchen porters, security guards, baristas, youth workers, paralegals, solicitors, architects, actors, receptionists, charity workers and couriers.

The nationalities of the workers receiving the masks ranged from Spanish to Argentinian, Ecuadorian to Bolivian, Colombian, Peruvian, Polish, Congolese, Jamaican, Romanian, Nigerian, Sri Lankan, Namibian and British.

Once again showing UVW to be the trade union at the forefront of fighting for the rights of migrant workers in the UK.

Of course, whilst it is a disgrace that a tiny union like UVW has had to step in to offer masks to our members, something which is the clear responsibility of employers and the government, it is nonetheless a pleasure to have been able to pull this all together in such a short period of time and to support each other as a community.

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