High sickness rates among West Lothian bin lorry crews are 'normal'

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

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 manual