...council management saw fit to ask staff to report to a designated school for 7am to carry out their duties in empty schools. At the same time police were advising people not to travel and the majority of public transport had been cancelled.Iain Hughes
South Lanarkshire Greens have raised concerns after hearing complaints by SLC Facility staff that they have had to come in to work in schools on the recent severe weather warning days, despite police warnings stating that the public should only travel if absolutely essential, due to a risk to life. This is despite the fact that children and teachers throughout South Lanarkshire were given three 'snow days' off from Wednesday to Friday last week as schools closed.
Local campaigner Iain Hughes, said, "From the reports we are hearing, hard working facility staff, comprising cleaners, catering staff and janitors, had no such snow days as council management saw fit to ask staff to report to a designated school for 7am to carry out their duties in empty schools. At the same time police were advising people not to travel and the majority of public transport had been cancelled. Some staff were instructed to complete training or deep cleaning but these tasks do not out-weigh employee safety."
Iain urged SLC to ensure that staff who could not safely make it to work on the snow days should not be punished by having their wages docked or hours banked forcing them to essentially work over time due to conditions outwith their control. He also encouraged SLC to review procedures for future severe weather events with staff and union reps so that the safety of all staff is paramount and that no matter what grade, employees should not be encouraged to defy police travel advice by forcing them to come in to work.
You can contact Iain Hughes on 07578828588