Sickness rate among bin crews not concerning

High sickness absence rates among bin lorry crews are the norm across local authorities, councillors have been told.

- ROSS THOMSON

The physical nature of the work leads to often double-digit percentages of staff absence compared to other areas of council work.

And the sickness absence rate across all council services in West Lothian is broadly similar to national trends

A meeting of Corporate Policy and Resources PDSP heard that musculoskeletal injury was the second most common reason for sickness absence between April and September this year-most of those in operational services staff-the majority of which are manual workers.

And at a recent meeting of the Performance Committee, Scott Anderson, the waste and recycling manager, said: "Sickness absence remains high. It is because it is such a manually orientated service."