Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Highland school cleaners voice health and safety fears

Highland Council HQ
Highland Council HQ

School cleaners in the north say they have been told to return to work to clean empty schools, putting themselves and their families at risk.

They say the schools are already clean and don’t need to be done again until they re-open, adding that they have no PPE.

Highland Council says the cleaners have a key role to undertake in council and partner establishments and “employees are undertaking all their duties in accordance with guidance issued by UK and Scottish Governments”.

One cleaner, who wished to remain anonymous, said those who are being asked to clean empty schools cannot be considered key workers.

The cleaner said their supervisor is trying as far as possible to encourage social distancing but some employees have their own health issues including some requiring shielding, or vulnerable people at home.

The cleaner said: “The issue for many of us is that we are still in lockdown, we are encouraged not to travel or go to work if possible.

“Basically if we don’t go in, we don’t get paid.

“We feel worried and anxious that we are to leave our homes during lock down, with no PPE.

“Most schools are not open so it’s putting us at risk being asked to clean schools already cleaned thoroughly.”

A Highland Council spokeswoman said: “The service is essential to ensure locations identified as school and/or community clubs are able to operate.

“In addition, establishments that are currently closed to all non-essential staff require to be thoroughly cleaned.

“Due to the sudden closure of buildings, a full clean, and statutory health & safety duties are still required to take place.

“This includes flushing of all water systems to ensure that water hygiene standards are maintained and fire testing. “

The cleaners say fire testing could be carried out by the janitor, rather than a whole complement of cleaners, and fire testing is a facilities, not cleaning, matter.

The council spokeswoman said: “Cleaning and facilities management staff are part of one service and employees assist each other as required to enable the council to perform their duties to comply with health and safety regulations.

“This will also allow the council buildings to be ready for re-occupancy when staff and schools return.

“Staffing required will continue to be monitored through this period of COVID-19.

“The safety of employees is of vital importance to Highland Council and all council services have put appropriate measures in place to protect employees.”