‘Workers call site Totty Towers... it’s just vile’
An insider’s experience
I BELIEVE there is a toxic culture at the heart of Sellafield. One of the sites is known as Totty Towers because that is where most of the women work.
The way they are viewed is like something out of the Dark Ages. Women are subject to innuendo, overtly sexual comments and inappropriate touching.
I went to one site where for the first time in my life I actually felt intimidated. One woman bent down to plug in her laptop under the table and her manager held her head down and said, ‘While you are down there love, can you just whip round and do us all a favour’.
An Eastern European employee was told to go back to where he was from, following Brexit. I also heard young graduates talk of shocking stories of sexism, bullying, racism, homophobia. It was vile.
The site is huge, like a small town. But the first thing that hits you when you start to work here is the incredible lack of diversity. There are hardly any people from ethnic minority backgrounds. Swearing is rampant. I have also heard some horrific comments made about people who are gay.
But they don’t address the bullies – they just move them around. I am deeply concerned because this is not a toy factory, it is the most dangerous nuclear facility in the country.
If you have employees who are unhappy, they are clearly not going to be working at their best. It is such a closeted, insular organisation. Everyone knows everyone.
They don’t address poor performance because they will be addressing a best mate’s cousin or their dad’s friends.
The bottom line about Sellafield is that its workers are paid very well in comparison to other industries in the area, but they are treated very badly.
So they put up with it. But there is a very unhappy workforce – and I believe it is a public safety issue.
I am genuinely worried that something big is going to happen here and if it does it will contaminate a large part of Europe.
It is an open secret how bad things are. But nothing ever changes.