WORKERS at a lawnmower-making factory said they are terrified staff and their families will become infected by Covid-19 because of safety failings.
Staff said even though Husqvarna, in Newton Aycliffe, has introduced social distancing, bosses are putting workers' lives on the line.
Team members who believe they have already had the virus have returned to work and others say social distancing is impossible in their job roles.
One staff member said: “We have stickers on the floor to separate us but we don’t think they are the recommended distance. Some people who believe they've had it have returned to work but some of us live with elderly and vulnerable people and may get it off them. It is impossible for us to complete our jobs while keeping the correct distance away from colleagues.
“The company is a Swedish manufacturer so we are following their rules but we are not Sweden and the virus is affecting the UK differently – they need to do more as we are terrified."
Workers said the factory is in skeleton shut down which means about fifty people are running the lines.
They also said supervisors took more than five hours into a shift to issue hand sanitiser pumps.
The concerns have led to staff calling for workers to be placed on furlough to protect themselves and their loved ones.
One worker said: “We would like the company to furlough us. Who even wants a lawnmower in a pandemic anyway? It is not essential and they are putting people with vulnerable families at risk."
A spokesperson from Husqvarna said health and safety of staff is their main focus.
They said: Since the Government requirement for social distancing was introduced we have focused our attention on how this can be achieved to keep our people safe. We are mindful that the nature of our business means that some of the tasks i.e. manufacturing cannot be carried out at home. Where tasks can be carried out at home then this has been the case for several weeks.
"In relation to our manufacturing, we reduced levels of manning to a bare minimum for a two week period to allow us to further prepare the workplace for a safer working environment (and to ensure the governmental guidelines were being followed). Activities to improve the social distancing at site included widened and one way systems, an additional canteen as well as additional smoking and toilet facilities was added.
"To ensure social distancing rules could be adhered to on the production line we have increased the gaps between workers by reducing the line speed and thus reducing our agency associate numbers. This allows our direct workers to conform with social distancing requirements.
"The entire workforce was informed of these changes both prior to returning, and during on site briefing sessions."
"We have also introduced the roles of social distancing marshals. We have people working across all areas, to ensure that those working on site are taking this seriously and adhering to our new and different ways of working. The Social Distancing marshals are also responsible for feeding back ideas and concerns that people may have, which will allow us to make further improvements and ensure the health and safety of our staff. We believe our staff understand the importance of social distancing and are working with us by adhering to these rules. We continue to strive to have the right balance between the safety of our people and fulfilling our business needs."
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