‘We feel like just a number’ - Energy services firm Shawcor investigates Covid safety concerns at Leith pipe coating site

A worker at the Shawcor pipe coating facility who did not want to be named, said they were once told by a supervisor to keep quiet after presenting with flu-like symptoms, and claimed close contacts of positive cases are often scared to take time off to test and self-isolate because of pressure from management and fears for their jobs.

Images taken recently at the site also appear to suggest toilet facilities are not being regularly cleaned.

The source said: “We have had many outbreaks of Covid-19 and work downplay it every time.

“We are all scared of this virus but we feel like just a number. The cleaning at work is practically non existent, toilets are filthy and there are so many people using these toilets and you are lucky if they get cleaned every day. They provide us with snoods but they are so thin and cheap, they are useless.”

The source claimed they are aware of an instance where a member of management was confirmed to have Covid-19 and other employees - deemed to be close contacts - were told to self-isolate but also return to work within seven days.

They said: “What Shawcor is doing is ignoring the pandemic and rules stated in law surrounding what is meant to happen if you have Covid-19, or been around someone who has symptoms or diagnosed with Covid-19.”

Scottish Government advice for employers says that anyone with symptoms must self-isolate straight away and that people who have tested positive for Covid must self-isolate for a minimum of ten days from the time their symptoms started.

Close contacts of someone who has tested positive identified by an NHS contact tracer will have to self-isolate for ten days. Anyone who is a close contact and is self-isolating for ten days, who themselves develop symptoms and tests positive, must start a new period of ten days self-isolation from the date of onset of their own symptoms.

A spokesperson for Shawcor said health and safety of their employees remains a “top priority” and that they have a corporate steering committee which oversees their global Covid response and decentralised teams to ensure alignment to local requirements.

The spokesperson said the company’s focus is to “prevent, identify and contain the virus” and they have put in “strict measures and controls” at all of their sites, dedicating time and resources to maintaining safe working conditions and adapting to the changing Covid situation.

The spokesperson told the Edinburgh Evening News: “We appreciate that you have brought this to our attention. We take these matters seriously and are investigating accordingly.”

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