Government has ‘blood on its hands’ over Channel deaths, PCS union claims

The Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union has accused the UK government of having “blood on its hands” after six people died while attempting to cross the English Channel yesterday. The PCS union represents civil servants in the UK and has been campaigning for a ‘Safe Passage Policy’, whereby a visa scheme would be established which would allow asylum seekers to safely enter the UK to have their claims processed.

PCS head of bargaining Paul O’Connor said: “There is a readily available policy to prevent this tragic loss of life. Unfortunately, our calls on the government to adopt it have fallen only stony ground. It’s clear they have no desire to prevent these dangerous crossings.

“Instead, they’re pouring taxpayers’ money down the drain on policies which are unlawful, unworkable and doomed to failure. Why? Because they want to scapegoat refugees to deflect from their own catastrophic failings on people’s living standards. They don’t care that people die as a result. They have blood on their hands. The government’s approach is a moral disgrace. The British people should not fall for it. We call upon every person in this country with a shred of humanity to support our call for Safe Passage.”

PCS’s Safe Passage Policy is backed by 26 UK trade unions, including the country’s two biggest unions, Unite and Unison.

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