Insider claims Dounreay cops are close to ‘breaking point’
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NUCLEAR police officers at Dounreay are on the verge of suffering from stress-related breakdowns amid claims that they are being overworked with little or no time to recuperate.
A Civil Nuclear Constabulary insider said that staff have become exhausted from working long hours as a result of a review into security and policing arrangements, resulting in some signing off sick with stress.
It is also claimed that staff recently voted against agreeing to volunteer to be within 30 minutes from Dounreay at all times during two of their four days off in case they were called upon.
But it was stated that the practice could become mandatory towards the end of the year, leaving staff even more stressed-out about what is claimed to be an ever increasing workload.
The source, who contacted the Caithness Courier, said that a recently audited report was investigated by senior officers who interviewed staff who were highly critical of the way things were being run at Dounreay but said that their views have been ignored.
“Dounreay Police senior management are telling the persons who are working in operations planning that it doesn’t matter that they think that the officers on the ground are working too many hours. They told the operations staff to max them out,” said the source who refused to be identified for fear of reprisals.
“Staff have been working 12-hour shifts over 10 consecutive days and more, it has resulted in one member of staff becoming sick through exhaustion and the new probationers have been told that their leave has been cancelled.”
It was claimed in August that a vote took place when staff were asked to volunteer to take part in a Notice to Operate scheme, which required them to be within 30 minutes of Dounreay on two of their four days off work.
The vote was unanimously rejected by all staff members but the source claimed that it is feared that it will become a mandatory part of the job by December 22.
Due to the nature of the job, officers are not allowed to strike or join a trade union, leaving them with little place to voice their concerns.
“Notice to Operate will also have a big effect on the lives of their families as well as staff,” said the source.
“If it comes into force, it means that families with only one car cannot go out in case they are called.
“It is a having a huge impact on people’s lives and it is an infringement on our human rights.
“They are working too hard and too long and somebody is going to eventually end up losing it on site.”
In August, it was reported that between 15 to 20 veteran nuclear police officers at Dounreay faced being shoehorned into civilian jobs for turning down a call to arms, being forced to join a private security firm and relinquish their status as officers of the law by the end of the year.
CNC claimed that the move would allow existing firearm officers to focus on their defend-and-protect role.
A CNC spokesman yesterday said that together with site licence company DSRL, it is reviewing security and policing arrangements at Dounreay as part of a continuous improvement programme to ensure the regime is robust and effective.
He said that it is aware of how officers feel about the current review and that it has been working with them and the Civil Nuclear Police Federation by communicating on a regular basis to keep everyone informed of developments as they occur.
“The review includes an increase in the number of authorised firearms officers (AFOs) available at Dounreay and there is a temporary increase in the workload expected on our officers as we recruit and train new AFOs,” he said.
“None of our officers are breaching the European Working Time Regulations although the management of working patterns can always be improved and this is constantly under evaluation.”
He added: “It would not be appropriate to discuss the detailed content of these communications as this could compromise existing and future security arrangements.”
