Boris Johnson has been warned that he is putting blue-collar workers in harm’s way as he scrambles to get manufacturing and construction employees back to work on Wednesday.
The UK prime minister was criticised by Labour and union leaders for attempting to bounce people back to work without allowing time to establish arrangements for safe workplaces and new guidelines for public transport.
Downing Street initially wanted people who could not work at home to return to work on Monday but on a day of confusion it had to postpone the start date by 48 hours amid warnings from Frances O’Grady, general secretary of the Trades Union Congress, that it would lead to “chaos”.