Your union has received a response from Personal Injury Commission (PIC) in relation to the feedback PSA provided on behalf of members.

We note that PIC has not mentioned amending the draft COVID Risk Assessment in any way to incorporate that feedback.

You can find PIC’s response to our feedback HERE.

In regard to matters of hygiene, we believe PIC to have stepped outside the scope of the risk assessment. PIC is not in a position to mandate either the washing of masks or the closing of the toilet seat lid after use. It is not the employer’s role to enforce such matters and there appears to be no information as to how staff who fail to wash their face mask daily or put the toilet seat lid down will be dealt with. The fact that these are still included in the risk assessment is concerning and your union will continue to request information as to how PIC is going to police these matters.

The PSA asked if there would be space on the desk for books and papers needed for work purposes. PIC refers to a tray to move items from a personal locker to the desk. This does not answer the question but suggests the response may be ‘No, there won’t be space’. It is disappointing that PIC prefers to deflect rather than take onboard areas of concern raised by your union on your behalf.

The Government’s response to COVID changes on a weekly, if not daily, basis. PIC’s ability to respond to the Government’s directives needs to be rather more flexible than mandating the washing of masks, the wearing of single-use masks only once and the closure of the toilet seat lid.

We strongly encourage our members to read PIC’s response in full. As always, if you are aware of non-members who would like the opportunity to be further involved with how your employer deals with COVID, please share this bulletin with them.