ROYAL MAIL: "profits before safety"

ROYAL Mail is putting "profits before safety" say postal workers, who claim the company is failing to protect them from the risk of catching coronavirus.

There is a shortage of gloves, masks and hand sanitiser, employees from across the UK have told the BBC.

They also claim social distancing at work is "almost impossible".

Royal Mail says it has invested £15m in protective equipment and that the health and well-being of staff is their top priority.

Over the last two weeks, staff at eight Royal Mail sites, including three in Scotland, have walked out over safety concerns.  The BBC has seen footage of employees working shoulder-to-shoulder in one sorting office, with limited social distancing measures in place.

A supervisor based in the north of England said:  "It's more than two weeks since the lockdown and we're in a situation where there is still a lack of PPE [personal protective equipment], there's still a lack of sanitisers, there is still a lack of direction."

He said staff feel as though they are "forced to choose between their jobs and their health".

"I'm scared that my job will be in danger if I refuse to do a task because I believe it puts me in an unsafe position," he added.

https://www.bbc.co.uk › news › business-52243179

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