Praise as Wigan binmen keep going despite shortages of staff

The recent new wave of Covid cases has seen some crew members taken ill and others having to self-isolate because they have been “pinged” for being in contact with someone infected.

And yet Wigan seems to have coped better with the latest problems than others.

Elsewhere in Lancashire and also in Yorkshire there have been reports of bins standing unemptied at people’s gates for weeks due to staff shortages.

A Wigan town hall spokesman said: “Like a majority of local authorities, Wigan Council’s workforce continues to feel the impact of recent high case rates with employees required to self-isolate.

“For example, more than 60 environmental services staff were either self-isolating or unable to work last week.

“In June, more than 150 staff across the council workforce were required to self-isolate.

“Essential services, such as waste collections, emergency repairs and adult and children’s social care provision have been prioritised throughout the pandemic and this will continue.

“The bin workforce continues to feel the impact of Covid-19 and is working hard to ensure that residents receive their normal bin collection service.

“Waste collection remains a priority and where rounds have not been completed we are returning as soon as possible.

“We are keeping our social channels up to date with details on when and where these issues arise.”

The council recently announced that it was temporariliy closing most of its libraries so that staff could be deployed to more essential parts of the authority’s operations such as customer services.

Council bosses are continuing to encourage everyone to keep doing the simple things to help stop the spread of the virus and have again praised the borough’s sense of community spirit.

Visitors to local authority venues are still being asked to wear face coverings and maintain social distancing.

Council leader David Molyneux said: “We are constantly reviewing our service delivery and events schedule with the health of our residents our top priority, as it has been throughout the pandemic.

“I’m sure that everyone will understand why these steps are being maintained given our current circumstances.

“Ensuring our residents stay safe is our priority and we very much appreciate everyone’s patience and support.

“We therefore urge everyone to keep doing their bit to ‘Keep Wigan Borough Safe’ and continue to be kind and considerate to one another.

“Throughout the past 18 months we have highlighted the wonderful sense of community spirit we have in our borough and recognised the contributions of staff to help keep our services running.”

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