HM Courts & Tribunals Service are taking additional steps to ensure that courts are more “Covid-secure.”
The announcement that five court sites will offer home testing kits comes after staff at Liverpool Law Courts and Snaresbrook Crown Court backed industrial action following a ballot by The Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS).
PCS general secretary Mark Serwotka said:
‘This vote for strike action is an indictment of HMCTS management’s refusal to take Covid in the workplace seriously. Court staff have been working incredibly hard in this pandemic keeping the justice system running but they feel deeply let down and are worried for their safety with high case numbers across the HMCTS estate.
‘Management’s refusal to agree to our sensible proposals including holding critical cases virtually and mandatory Covid testing for staff, is what lies at the heart of this dispute.’
A pilot will see home-testing kits be made available to staff, lawyers, judges and jurors as new safety measures are introduced across the five sites; Birmingham Crown Court, Croydon Combined Court, Liverpool Combined Court QEII, Snaresbrook Crown Court and Wolverhampton Combined Court.
