School catering workers fear job losses

Staff at a Dundee school are starting 2021 facing redundancy.

Most catering staff at the High School of Dundee have been on furlough since March 2020 but, due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandem ic , a consultation is now under way.

However, one of the 12 members of staff said they felt the decision had already been made and they’re now having to think about signing on to Universal Credit.

They said: “The school has decided that under the circumstances catering is no longer viable in the short or the long term.

“We have been furloughed since the beginning , so there have been no school dinners, no catering and no functions, which is pretty much what we did.”

They added: “I absolutely expect this consultation to lead to redundancy – I fear the school has already decided.

“Furlough is going on until the end of April and an awful lot can happen between now and then, particularly with the vaccine being developed and rolled out.

“But in order for them to accept the furlough scheme, the school has to provide a guarantee there will be a job for us to go back to and they say they can’t do that now.”

The school said it had been logistically impossible to offer safe catering provision during the pandemic, and that situation would continue until Easter at the earliest.

Catering had been provided by nationwide company Elior.

Claire Macdonald, the school’s bursar, said: “It is with huge regret that, as a consequence, a consultation process has begun with the catering staff.”