Coronavirus: East Antrim employees’ concerns over social distancing

The appeal comes from East Antrim UUP MLA John Stewart in response to concerns from employees across the borough.

Mr Stewart said: “I have been contacted by scores of local workers desperately concerned that they are still being forced to work in factories and businesses which are not ‘essential’ and with little of no social distancing.

“I have raised this matter with the some companies directly but many are hiding behind the lack of clarity from the government.

“The Northern Ireland Executive needs to issue a new directive right away covering exactly what production and businesses are truly essential and instructing all the rest to close.”

A number of people have contacted this newspaper to claim social distancing is not being observed at the Caterpillar plant on Larne’s Old Glenarm Road - however the company has rejected this.

One woman, who wished to remain anonymous, said: “Caterpillar Larne is not closing and there are hundreds of workers within their walls where social distancing is merely impossible.”

Echoing these views, another resident, who also wished to remain anonymous, said: “Many of them (workers) have families and elderly relatives and are uncomfortable working in an environment where the coronavirus could easily spread.”

In response, a spokesperson for the company said: “Caterpillar continues to operate its Larne facility while adhering to the Government’s guidance.

“Our employees’ safety, health and well-being remain a top priority.”

Meanwhile, Royal Mail has introduced a new social distancing policy yesterday. A spokesperson stated Royal Mail was “working hard to ensure the policy is implemented across all our sites.”

The postal service and courier company moved to clarify the policy after claims were made about working conditions at sorting offices during the coronavirus outbreak.

Commenting on the policy, Shane O’Riordain, Royal Mail Managing Director of Regulation and Corporate Affairs said: “Royal Mail takes the health and safety of its colleagues, its customers and the local communities in which we operate very seriously. We have introduced a range of new social distancing measures aimed at offering further protection for our colleagues. Standard ways of working are being revised to ensure that, wherever possible, colleagues stay two metres apart. We are implementing a new rule that means there will only be one person in a Royal Mail delivery vehicle at any one time. Processes have been further reviewed to minimise the passing of work between colleagues. And we are calling for the washing of hands when colleagues enter and leave Royal Mail buildings, as well as at regular times during the day.

“In order to protect further both our people and customers, we are temporarily not handing over our hand-held devices to customers to capture signatures. Postmen and postwomen will instead log the name of the person accepting the item, and can sign on their behalf. This will apply to all deliveries that require a signature. Additionally, for all customers (including those who are self-isolating) where we need to deliver any parcel that won’t fit through their letterbox, we will place their item at their door. Having knocked on the door, we will then step aside to a safe distance while they retrieve their item. This will ensure the item is delivered securely rather than being left outside.

“We continue to act on public health authority advice which is updated daily. In the meantime we share regular updates and information with colleagues. We have also adopted enhanced disinfectant cleaning of communal areas in all Royal Mail sites on a daily basis. We are monitoring the situation closely.”