‘Forgotten’ school support staff demand protection
SCHOOL janitors, cleaners and support staff say they do not feel safe at work and fear they could die without extra protection.
Serious concerns have been raised over the availability of personal protective equipment (PPE), risk assessments and a lack of investment in care.
With children and teachers set to return to classrooms from August 11, members of the GMB Union sent a letter to Nicola Sturgeon warning of potential risks to their safety. They said school staff have already died after contracting Covid-19 and warned that further deaths could occur without proper protections and investment.
The Scottish Government had said all workers should have access to PPE where necessary.
However, the letter says staff received the ‘bare minimum’ of equipment, with some only having access to hand-washing facilities.
It states: ‘We do not feel safe and we are being put at risk every day.’
The letter was signed by GMB members who say they are the ‘workforce that seems to have been forgotten’.
Cleaners and janitors have worked throughout lockdown in education hubs and are preparing for the return of all pupils.
But they have raised concerns that guidelines calling for sitespecific risk assessments were not carried out and that workers have not received the PPE they require.
The letter states: ‘We have continued to look after the children of key workers and vulnerable children, have continued to feed them and provide personal care, cleaned up after them and made sure their environment is nurturing. We have done this with little regard for our own health and safety.’
Staff said they do not feel safe using public transport to get to work, with many travelling between several schools. The letter said: ‘Our families are being put risk. We are scared to take the virus home.’
The support workers are also calling for a £2-an-hour wage rise and improved contracts.
A Scottish Government spokesman said: ‘We have been clear with local authorities that workers should have appropriate hygiene facilities and access to PPE and any wider support they need.’
Scottish Labour education spokesman Iain Gray said the Scottish Government ‘must commit to providing and funding face masks for all staff and any pupils who wish them. Councils need support and should not be expected to fund it from existing resources.’