Covid-19 Inquiry: Frontline Migrant Health Workers’ Group Question Matt Hancock

The Former Health Secretary was asked on four separate occasions what practical steps were put in place to protect migrant health workers. His inability to provide an answer shows just how overlooked these groups were.  

Instructed by PILC, Counsel Diya Sen Gupta KC put several questions to Matt Hancock from the Frontline Migrant Health Workers’ Group (FMHWG). This group of workers is made up of Independent Workers’ Union of Great Britain (IWGB), United Voices of the World (UVW), and Kanlungan Filipino Consortium.   

Watch here

During the pandemic outsourced migrant workers often worked for minimum wage without NHS employment protections. This led to them being overlooked for PPE protection, scared to take sick pay, and with precarious contracts.   

Hancock admitted that he was aware of the higher infection and mortality rates among migrant healthcare workers early in spring 2020. Despite saying he "cared a huge amount" about the “debate” his responses to specific questions about practical measures routinely deflected to generalisations and vague responses.  

Hancock consistently reverted to broad measures such as "bringing in lockdown measures" and "PPE measures," without sharing any targeted initiatives.  

It speaks volumes that the former Health Secretary had no answer to the questions put to him. The lack of provision for the migrant workers who were putting themselves at huge risk to care for people during the pandemic shows just how overlooked and undervalued their vital work is now and was then.  

Watch here

The UK Covid-19 Inquiry will culminate in a Report with recommendations on how to improve healthcare and workers’ rights. It will highlight the impact on workers and privatisation of NHS, and will scrutinize the government’s actions during pandemic. You can find out more about PILC’s involvement in the inquiry here.   

Read the full transcript here or watch the video replay here.