ULEZ: Unite says London ULEZ expansion is anti-worker

The UK's biggest union Unite has called on London's mayor to halt the expansion of the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ).

It is concerned over the impact Sadiq Khan's policy will have on thousands of workers at Heathrow Airport.

The union has described Mr Khan's plans as "anti-worker" and called for a delay until there is more help for people to replace their cars.

A City Hall spokesman said the mayor "recognises that some people will need support moving to cleaner vehicles".

Heathrow Airport also says it is "concerned" about the effect on at least 10,000 employees who drive vehicles that do not meet the emission standards necessary to avoid a £12.50 daily charge.

The mayor urged Unite to "prioritise the health of Londoners and the lives of future generations over short-term politics, and to avoid joining the ranks of the climate-action delayers".

He has also said there is a £110m fund offering up to £2,000 to drivers willing to scrap their cars.

Unite has 20,000 members based at the airport, which is the biggest employer on a single site in the UK.

Unite spokesman Joe McGowan said many employees worked night shifts and unsociable hours and the alternatives were unsafe or unaffordable.

"We want the mayor to delay ULEZ expansion and improve mitigation, like the scrappage scheme.

"The outcome of this is profoundly anti-worker. We expect the party of the worker to stand by working people."

He added: "We think it will have a devastating impact on airport workers, particularly shift workers and cabin crew who are not easily able to access public transport and go to and from work when most of us are in bed."

Heathrow Airport, which lies within the planned extended zone, says it is worried by the expansion. It provides free parking permits to 30,000 employees.

About 10,000 employees drive petrol vehicles dating from before 2007 or diesel cars built before 2016, which will not comply when the zone is extended to cover outer London at the end of August.

About half of these workers live outside Greater London, meaning they are not eligible for the mayor's scrappage scheme.

Raj Gupta is ground staff at Heathrow and lives in Hounslow.

He has to try to trade in his 2009 diesel Mercedes, but says he doesn't expect to get the £4,000 he thinks it's worth because no one wants to buy a non compliant car.

"Prices are going down, lots of people are selling and there's too much demand for second hand cars that are compliant."

Given his shift patterns, he says it's not easy to get public transport and many of his female colleagues are worried about their safety.

Mr Gupta is not eligible for the scrappage scheme as he does not claim means-tested benefits.

An airport spokeswoman said: "We are supportive of the sustainability objectives of the ULEZ extension, but we do have concerns that the timescales given will impact colleagues across the business.

"We want to support colleagues as Heathrow transitions into the ULEZ and we are reviewing various options to do so."

Among those options is providing park-and- ride for employees who could then leave their vehicles outside the ULEZ boundary.

A City Hall spokesman said: "The mayor has been clear the decision to expand ULEZ was not an easy one, but necessary to protect the health of Londoners and tackle the climate emergency.

"Polluted air is stunting the lungs of children, leading to life-changing illnesses such as cancer, dementia and asthma, and resulting in around 4,000 Londoners dying prematurely every year.

"Over four-fifths of vehicles in outer London are already ULEZ-compliant, but the mayor recognises that some people will need support moving to cleaner vehicles.

"Tackling the climate crisis is the defining issue of our times and cleaning up London's air is central to that."

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