Don’t put your workers’ lives at risk, council told
Union claims many staff pressured to work during artic blast
03.03.2018 Council staff should not be pressured to make it to work if by bosses if conditions are treacherous, trade union chiefs insist.
GMB Scotland has written to ministers demanding teams are protected as winter weather continues to batter the country.
It insists Renfrewshire Council crews’ safety must be balanced against delivery of essential services.
Drew Duffy, senior organiser for GMB Scotland, says local authority workers across Scotland have been forced into the office in life- threatening conditions.
He said: “Conditions have exposed some shocking employment rights abuses, including unreasonable expectations and pressures on some of the lowest-paid workers – many of whom are women.
“We have been providing advice and support to members delivering the likes of home care, roads maintenance and refuse services across the country.
“The treatment of some staff by their managers has been scandalous.
“We’re talking about carers being ordered to make home visits, using their own money and vehicles to reach service users and then being stranded in conditions which Police Scotland and the Scottish Government have said are unsafe.”
GMB says a ‘commonsense’ balance needs to be struck between services running and ensuring employees are not atrisk from plunging temperatures.
It reveals it has been “inundated” with calls from concerned members in council services across Scotland.
They say they were pressured to attend work and undertake journeys in ‘ red warning’ weather conditions.
Do not travel warnings are scheduled to remain in place into the weekend.
Mr Duffy added: “Unfortunately, we have had to press employers to ensure that our members will not be forced into detrimental situations if they are unable to attend their work or can’t fulfil their duties.
“There is a real feeling that workers delivering local services are being ignored when it comes to safety.
“Let’s also be clear that the majority of these workers have suffered a decade of cuts to their pay and services.
“It’s not just thanks they should be receiving, but the proper recognition and reward for their work and skills.
“We would urge any member who has faced difficulties to contact us if they feel their employment rights are being breached or if they feel their personal safety is being compromised in any way.”
A Renfrewshire Council spokesman said the “safety and wellbeing” of staff always comes first.
“We’d like to thank our staff for their hard work and dedication during the unprecedented weather conditions, their commitment to serving the Renfrewshire community is greatly appreciated.
“We continually work closely with our staff to ensure they are able to travel to work safely and we provide support where they are unable to attend. Renfrewshire Council staff members who have been unable to attend work due to the weather conditions will not be adversely affected in any way.
“Staff who are providing lifeline services such as care at home and some social work services have been provided with support and advice on how to carry out their role safely.
“Support with transport, where safe to do so, has been provided to ensure our staff and services were able to operate.
“We have also reallocated appropriate roles to staff who have been able to attend work, particularly within our frontline services, to ensure that we can continue to provide essential services such as road clearing and gritting,” he said.
Meanwhile, Renfrewshire is continuing to tackle treacherous wintry conditions, three days after the Beast from the East first battered the region.
Sub-zero temperatures are set to continue today while a yellow weather warning remains in place from The Met Office in the wake of Storm Emma.
Main routes in and around Renfrewshire have started to clear, allowing taxis and some buses to get back on the roads.
Glasgow Airport resumed services yesterday, although many flights were cancelled or delayed with disruption continuing into the weekend.
Renfrewshire Council expects schools and nurseries to re-open on Monday and parents will be notified by noon tomorrow.
Bin collections for this weekend have been suspended and will be picked on up their next scheduled collection date.
Renfrewshire Leisure says all its sports and leisure facilities will re-open today.