Coronavirus: Wren Kitchens staff concerned over work conditions

Wren Kitchens has a factory in Barton-upon-Humber in North Lincolnshire

Workers at the UK's largest kitchen manufacturer have expressed concerns about their safety during the coronavirus outbreak, a union has said.

Unite said they had been contacted by several people working at Wren Kitchens in North Lincolnshire.

Mike Wilkinson from the union said employees had told him there was "no minimum of two metres between people".

Last week, Wren rejected calls to shut down and said that it was following "all government guidelines".

The BBC has also received emails and phone messages from people claiming to work at the factory in Barton-upon-Humber in North Lincolnshire.

'Shoulder-to-shoulder'

One worker said he was "scared to go to work".

Another said there was: "No social distancing on the production lines."

Mr Wilkinson said that workers had told him it was "production as normal".

"People are working either shoulder to shoulder or very close to being shoulder to shoulder," he said.

"There's no kind of any protective equipment for them to safeguard themselves or others."

Unite is helping staff raise concerns with the firm.

Local Conservative MP Martin Vickers said he had passed workers concerns "to the various regulatory authorities" and had asked the firm to reduce their operations to "an absolute minimum".

"I've have scores of emails and I've spoken to quite a few people who work there and clearly they are concerned that the two metre rule is not being enforced in any meaningful way," he said.

"I've spoken to the management there three or four times over the last few days and they have given me a categorical assurance they are doing all they can."

The BBC has approached Wren Kitchens but has received no response.