Bosses investigating bullying at a £58million taxpayer-funded PPE factory have been accused by an MSP of a whitewash.
Executives from US firm Honeywell met Richard Leonard to discuss claims by whistleblowers that they were badly mistreated while working at their complex in Newhouse, Lanarkshire.
But Leonard was told their own internal investigation had found none of the allegations could be confirmed.
It comes as more whistleblowers come forward to complain about the company, including a former soldier who claimed being on patrol in Afghanistan was better than working at Honeywell.
Leonard plans to write to UK Health Secretary Sajid Javid about Honeywell’s working practices and the behaviour of its management.
He said: “I believe the company’s investigation into themselves was a whitewash. It was an exercise in self-denial, obfuscation and cover-up. The outcome was clearly pre-judged.
“That Honeywell choose to use a phrase like ‘cannot confirm the allegations’ suggests they cannot deny them either.”
Last month five female whistleblowers told the Sunday Mail that workers were forced to meet unrealistic targets of making 600 medical grade masks per hour for use by doctors and nurses on the NHS.
The women, who are aged between 50 and 65, also claim they were timed by managers as they did their job and went to the toilet, intimidated as they stood over them and ordered not to leave their seats. Some who struggled to meet targets or took days off sick were reprimanded or lost their jobs.
After our September 12 article, Honeywell’s Romina Kananishoo contacted Leonard to say the claims would be investigated. The former Scottish Labour leader had hoped to meet the Honeywell boss in person at the plant near Bellshill. But she chose to do the meeting by video conference from her office in Brussels with two executives from their UK HQ in Berkshire.
Staff claimed they were forced to work in sweatshop conditions after the factory’s air conditioning system failed and when they brought their own fans in they were told not to use them.
Several more ex-staff have come forward after reading about our investigation. One 50-year-old woman, who asked not to be named, claims she was told to “get off the site” by a line manager after she asked for a day’s holiday.
And a 40-year-old man, who also asked not to be named, claims he was dismissed in April for taking two days off after he had a reaction to a Covid vaccine. He was also reprimanded for taking time off when his son was ill.
The ex-soldier says he was treated badly during his seven-month stint despite telling bosses he suffered PTSD after serving in Afghanistan. He added: “Helmand Province was better than Honeywell. You couldn’t go to the toilet without permission, listen to music, talk or laugh.”
Honeywell said: “We conducted a thorough internal review, including interviews with employees.
“We went through the concerns and found they were false, unsubstantiated or taken out of context.
“We also made it clear to Mr Leonard we welcome the opportunity to meet the anonymous workers who spoke with him so we can better understand their concerns.
“We held this meeting by tele-conference to ensure his safety and that of our co-workers during this time of pandemic.”
