Disabled workers request Covid support

Disabled workers have asked for support from supermarkets and for the public to respect social distancing.

The STUC (Scottish TUC) Disabled Workers’ Committee laid out the key concerns. Its chair, Julie Ferguson, said: “Unfortunately, we are finding that there are still members of the public that walk too close to us. For disabled people, it’s not as easy to ‘dodge’.”

She also expressed concern that supermarket delivery slots are becoming increasingly difficult to access for disabled people who depend on them:

“Pre-Covid-19, supermarket deliveries were a lifeline, but now they’re becoming more and more difficult to get. We need systems in place to make sure disabled people are still able to get delivery slots.”

The level of concern identified is backed up by research by the Office of National Statistics (ONS). Its has found that • almost half (45.1%) of disabled adults, compared with around a third (30.2%) of non-disabled adults, reported being very worried about the effect the pandemic is having on their life.