- Welcome Barpost News Collect Emails Boost Sharing Outlook
- Welcome Barpost News Collect Emails Boost Sharing Ads
- Welcome Barpost News Collect Emails Boost Sharing Account
A GMB Union organiser for the workforce providing waste services in Milton Keynes has urged the waste sector to increase its focus on health and safety, following the death of two RCV drivers because of coronavirus.
Richard Owen, regional organiser at the GMB Union with responsibility for Milton Keynes
The two drivers were employed by Serco on its contract for Milton Keynes council and died after contracting the virus (see letsrecycle.com story).
In an interview with letsrecycle.com, Richard Owen, regional organiser at the union with responsibility for Milton Keynes, said the sector as a whole needs to do more to avoid the “tragic incident” happening again.
“I’m not looking to attack Serco here, they have actually been one of the better companies to work with,” he said.
Email Survey Software Robust email survey software & tool to create email surveys, collect automated and real-time data and analyze results to gain valuable feedback and actionable insights! SMS Survey Software Use the power of SMS to send surveys to your respondents at the click of a button. And you get a sales boost! Try out Best Chatbot Ideas for Business Chatbots can offer great value to online businesses: they improve customer service, provide unique customer experience, save a lot of your time, and increase your sales.
Mr Owen added: “We don’t know the full circumstances of the incident yet, such as where the two actually caught the virus.
“However, we are concerned that nearly a year into this pandemic, and we are still having to have conversations with the waste industry across the country about the basics, such as wearing a mask and social distancing. The waste industry has been one of the worst offenders in this department.”
Concerns
The comments from Mr Owen comes in the wake of two drivers dying after testing positive for Covid-19 in Milton Keynes
“Many companies are still prioritising their bottom lines over the safety of our workers, which concerns me. The incident in Milton Keynes was tragic and extremely sad for all affected. I would urge the sector as a whole to double its efforts, or we could see incidents similar to this across the country.
“As a union we recognise that the responsibility of health and safety doesn’t lie exclusively with the employer”
“Despite this, as a union we recognise that the responsibility of health and safety doesn’t lie exclusively with the employer. I would urge all of our members to follow guidance and wear a mask wherever they can.”
Distancing
One problem faced by many refuse crews is that social distancing can be a challenge in cabs.
Milton Keynes has arranged access for front line crew members to have rapid Covid-19 Tests (with results known within an hour) to identify people who have the virus with no symptoms and “break the chain of transmission”.
Along with many other councils, Milton Keynes also suspended garden waste collections until further notice, a move described it as “sensible” by Mr Owen.
“I welcome the sensible step to suspend garden waste collections, given the circumstances. I understand that waste needs to be collected, but I think companies can be doing a hell of a lot more to stop crews contracting the virus. For example, we have seen across the country waste collection crews have to meet for work at the depot, where it can get crowded, before all piling into vehicles without masks, or taking steps to increase ventilation.
“Enforcement of mask-wearing has also been very limited, and I think we can help with this if companies were to approach us. Many crew members would be more open to speaking with union representatives than their supervisor for example.
”I have seen examples of some councils doing things such as running mini-buses for crews, which I think is a great way of keeping crews socially-distanced”.
Welcome Barpost News Collect Emails Boost Sharing Outlook
Guidance
Mr Owen concluded by saying that the guidance issued by the Waste Industry Safety and Health (WISH) Forum is “great”, but it is only effective if enforced correctly.
He says in some places, he has seen “little evidence” of this being the case.
Welcome Barpost News Collect Emails Boost Sharing Ads
NPR’s sites use cookies, similar tracking and storage technologies, and information about the device you use to access our sites (together, “cookies”) to enhance your viewing, listening and user experience, personalize content, personalize messages from NPR’s sponsors, provide social media features, and analyze NPR’s traffic. This information is shared with social media, sponsorship, analytics, and other vendors or service providers. See details.
Welcome Barpost News Collect Emails Boost Sharing Account
You may click on “Your Choices” below to learn about and use cookie management tools to limit use of cookies when you visit NPR’s sites. You can adjust your cookie choices in those tools at any time. If you click “Agree and Continue” below, you acknowledge that your cookie choices in those tools will be respected and that you otherwise agree to the use of cookies on NPR’s sites.
Comments are closed.