UNISON raises COVID-19 concerns for members at army college

UNISON members working for Compass and based at the Army Foundation College in Harrogate have expressed their fears of contracting COVID-19 on the site. Concerns were first raised on 7 January, when 800 young soldiers returned from leave, with 11 of them subsequently testing positive for coronavirus. Then on 14 January another 600 returned to the camp, of whom 53 tested positive a week later. A number of platoons were also placed in isolation. UNISON understands that there are now 100 confirmed cases. There are 23 UNISON members working for Compass at the college, in a variety of roles – catering, cleaning, admin, running the shop and looking after the electronic shooting range. General secretary Christina McAnea has written an urgent letter to defence secretary Ben Wallace, who has ultimate responsibility for the safety of workers at the college. “These outbreaks are of clear concern to the safety of our members employed to work at this site,” she writes. “What is of immediate concern now is that, in the first two weeks of March, there are potentially 300 young soldiers, fresh from the street, from all around the country, being brought into the camp to start their training. “These will be replacing 300 trained soldiers who are due to be sent, potentially, to sites all over the world. “The decision whether this takes place will be made on the 1 February, therefore there is a real urgency for you to intervene to avert any further transmission to others.” Under ...
Source: UNISON Health care news - Category: UK Health Authors: Tags: Article News Compass Covid-19 health and safety private contractors Source Type: news