Employees of Pembrokeshire County Council are being redeployed into essential services as a result of the coronavirus crisis.
The move is to ensure that critical services to the public are maintained and any possible further disruption to residents is minimised.
Thirteen members of staff who worked at Pembrokeshire’s leisure centres until they closed on Friday jumped at the chance to help their council colleagues and have now joined the waste and recycling collection teams, having received training over the weekend. A further five members of leisure centre staff will join them shortly. The newly-trained staff will be working with the existing teams to collect household waste and recycling from the kerbside.
Other Council staff have moved into domiciliary care work, while some have re-trained as registrars and call handlers for the Council’s provider services.
A number of employees have been identified as suitable to be redeployed to work at Withybush Airport to ensure that it remains open.
Education staff are working on child care settings and providing a varied programme for children of key workers.
Several employees have also been redeployed to support the County’s corporate response to the emergency.
Cllr David Simpson said it was vital that the Council’s core services should be maintained as far as possible.
“It is essential that we continue to care for our elderly and vulnerable residents and provide other important services,” he said.
In an email to staff, he said:
“I have seen people way out of their comfort zone and performing with exceptional diligence. From the Command Room staff to those who have picked up their computers and are now working from home, I would like to say a very big thank you. The task that lies ahead of us is unprecedented and every day is a mountain to climb, but I am confident that with the skills and determination that I am seeing, we will arrive at the end of the journey much stronger.”
