Falkirk Council workers said he ‘feared for his safety’ at Roughmute

The employee says it was impossible to socially distance, the PPE was inadequate and staff were not trained properly on how to calm the anger of stressed-out residents.

Staff working at the tips – many of them volunteers from other parts of the council – were told to check ID to make sure people were from the Falkirk area.

But that was impossible to do from a distance of two metres and meant getting too close to people’s cars, he felt.

The lack of a booking system also meant staff had to deal with several furious residents who did not realise they needed ID.

“Some people were getting out of their cars and shouting in our faces – the situation was like a tinderbox,” he said.

“I had cars being driven straight at me and one of my colleagues was almost run over.”

Both Kinneil in Bo’ness – where he was sent to help out – and Roughmute, near Bonnybridge, are on main roads where traffic can’t stop without blocking the road.

This meant members of staff were waving cars on and drivers having to loop back, hoping to time their arrival at the centre when there was space.

“If they couldn’t get on site they were having to drive up and down the road so I understand why they were angry.”

The worker estimates he was dealing around 250 cars a day – many with more than one person in them.

He said: “A lot of the people coming in were in their 70s and even 80s.

“We did not get any PPE apart from gloves so I felt we were putting those people in danger and they were putting me in danger.”

“Also, when you’ve got the noise of the engine running it’s hard to stay back. I estimated I was about 25cm away. Your head was almost in the car sometimes.”

He also thinks it was unfair that workers were subjected to such high levels of stress for hours at a time. On his first shift on June 12 he spent more than nine hours dealing with the traffic.

However, he was shocked that when he tried to point out issues to management he felt they were not interested.

The worker did two more shifts at the recycling centre before he knew he’d had enough.

“I was in fear for my own safety and well-being and I told them that I didn’t want to volunteer again,” he said.

But, as a member of the environmental services team, he was told he had to return to duty at the recycling centre or he would be disciplined.

The worker felt he had no choice but to take sick leave – his first day off sick in the past 24 years including the six years he has been with Falkirk Council.

“When I complained to managers, it fell on deaf ears – they just weren’t interested.” he said.

He also claimed several of his colleagues are also off long-term sick for similar reasons.

And he’s worried that the job will end up being done by people on zero hours contracts who have no choice but to work there whatever the dangers might be.

The worker has now submitted a grievance and asked that it be heard by a manager outwith the department.

Falkirk Council was contacted with the employee’s concerns and issued the following statement: “We have a number of employees who assisted, along with volunteers, to help with the re-opening of our two household recycling centres in recent months.

“All the employees involved were issued with appropriate personal protective equipment and a full risk assessment was carried out prior to them starting in line with Trade Union discussions.

“They were all fully trained to carry out this role prior to starting.

“We support any employee if they feel they cannot perform their role and we take their welfare as a major concern being a responsible employer.”