Retailer bows to pressure over warehouse working conditions
Retailer Matalan has bowed to pressure and given its warehouse workers the option to take time off work on furlough.
The Merseyside firm came in for serious criticism after staff were pictured online working closely together at the firm’s warehouse in Knowsley.
The firm has closed its stores but is still running its online operation.
The issue was taken up by unions and politicians after pictures were posted online by worried staff.
The company sent a letter to staff on Monday saying it would now furlough workers on a voluntary basis under the government’s Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme.
The GMB union and its members had applied pressure after it was claimed the company was ignoring Coronavirus guidelines and putting workers in danger.
Workers at the Matalan Distribution centre, in Knowsley, said they were being forced to continue working in cramped, overcrowded conditions as bosses fail to comply with Government advice on social distancing and stopping operations.
Shaun Buckley, GMB Regional Organiser, said: “This is a big win for the health and safety of our members – not to mention plain common sense.
“We were inundated with messages from worried GMB members in a state of panic that Matalan bosses were putting workers and their families’ lives at risk.
“But after sustained pressure from GMB, Matalan workers and local politicians the company has caved and is now doing the right thing.”
A spokesperson for Matalan said: “Along with the rest of the retail industry, we continue to operate our online business closely following the Government guidance, going above and beyond to ensure the safety of both our employees and our customers.
“Over the past few days, we are pleased to have received approval from both the Environmental Health Officer (the EHO) and a representative of the GMB, who have both visited our Knowsley DC and have both deemed the site safe to work.
“Furthermore, since these visits we shut down our warehouse for three days to undertake a deeper clean of the site.
“We are taking our responsibility as a large North West employer to look after our staff extremely seriously.
“We are therefore now going one step further and all our colleagues are being offered the option to stay at home and be placed in furlough from the 30th March for the time being. This will ensure that those who choose not to come to work, have access to government support packages where available.
“We will continue to operate online with continued strict health and safety regimes in place. Since the outbreak of COVID-19 we have closely followed the Government guidance and WHO and have operated our warehouses with a number of precautions in place to enhance everyone’s ability to operate safely. We have continuously increased these measures further as official advice has developed and will continue to do so.”
