Drivers’ hours and COVID-19

The long and unsocial hours worked by many drivers might make them more at risk from COVID-19, according to the Unite general union. A government analysis in May 2020 revealed significantly increased death rates in certain occupational groups including taxi drivers, chauffeurs and bus and coach drivers. Unite assistant general secretary Diana Holland said: “A full public inquiry into these deaths must investigate not only if these workers were failed by a lack of PPE, but also if they were significantly more susceptible to the disease due to the cumulative effects that working long and unsocial hours had on their health.”