Museums shut but libraries to remain open
Protecting local people and staff is ‘absolute priority’
COUNCIL chiefs in Kirklees say they are doing everything they can to protect people after being accused of putting lives at risk by not ordering more staff to work from home.
The council employs thousands of workers in offices across the borough and has spent hundreds of thousands on supplying some employees with the ability to work remotely.
But while many companies and organisations have told all staff to log on from home, a frustrated Kirklees Council employee told the Examiner that the council had been silent.
The source said there had been no message to all staff, just a directive to senior managers to allow those more vulnerable to illness to work from home.
The Examiner has had sight of an email sent by the executive team on Tuesday supporting the source’s claim. We are not publishing it to protect their identity.
But the council said the situation is fast moving and their priority is to protect local people and care for their most vulnerable residents.
The staff member said: “There’s been no clear guidance.
“I would have expected a message from Jacqui Gedman at 10am on Tuesday but there’s been nothing. Why is taking them so long? It’s government advice and we’re local government, so we should be following it.
“We’ve spent thousands on laptops and equipment to enable us to be mobile and agile. Most office workers have the ability to work from home.
“Despite this, there’s been no leadership or direction from anyone to tell us to work from home. They’ve only said people who are in vulnerable groups should do it.
“I think they’re putting employees in danger by not following government advice.
“We’re the biggest employer in Kirklees and they’re putting the rest of Kirklees in danger as we’re not going to be able to provide services if many of us fall ill.”
Chief executive Jacqui Gedman said: “This is a fast moving and unprecedented situation for us all. In times like these, the role of local government is even more important than ever and we are up to the challenge in Kirklees.
“We are following the regular government advice very closely. Our absolute priority is to do absolutely everything we can to protect local people and our staff, to keep them informed and try to limit the impact on them as much as possible.
“The key for us in Kirklees is to do what we do best – pull together and help those that need us most. As a council we promise to do all we can to make this period as easy and as manageable as we can for everyone.
“We are communicating with our staff daily with all the latest government advice and guidance on staying safe. Those staff who have underlying health issues have now been asked to work from home.
“However, we’re the fourth emergency service and we have a duty to care for our most vulnerable residents. We will continue to issue more guidance and changes over the next few days to employees. We are planning our working arrangements very carefully to make sure we have enough staff to help the people who need us the most.”
Meanwhile, Calderdale Council has announced it will close all its leisure centres, museums, Victoria Theatre and the Shay Stadium from today for 12 weeks.
MUSEUMS and galleries in Kirklees will close from today and events in all council buildings will be cancelled.
Kirklees Council is responding to the latest Government advice on Coronavirus by making the decision to close museums and galleries until further notice.
All events planned in council buildings – including town halls and libraries - will be cancelled or postponed until further notice.
Events planned in council-owned public spaces and parks will also no longer be going ahead. Oakwell Hall Country Park at Birstall will remain open, however.
All libraries and town halls across the borough will remain open at this time.
The registration service based in Huddersfield and Dewsbury town halls will remain open.
The council is contacting anyone who has hired a hall or booked an event in any of its venues or parks to let them know about these changes.
The council will work with couples who have booked weddings to see whether they want to go ahead with “social distancing measures” or to postpone.
Anyone who has bought a ticket for a show or event will be reimbursed to the card they used for the transaction, and the council is contacting people who paid cash to arrange a refund.
Funerals will continue to take place at cemeteries and crematoria, however live streamed services will be offered to help with social distancing and to protect the vulnerable and over 70s.
Council leader Shabir Pandor said: “These really are once in a lifetime challenges and the most important thing for us all to do is pull together and look out for each other.
“The challenge we all face is much bigger than Kirklees Council, it’s a real community effort. As I have said before, our strength is in our togetherness and that is more important now than ever.”