Siemens Gamesa has restarted full production at its Hull blade manufacturing plant in the UK after introducing a series of measures to protect staff during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The turbine manufacturer has introduced thermal imaging, enhanced protective equipment and various other initiatives to get operations going again after the factory was shut last week.
UK Energy Department BEIS has informed the company that renewable energy staff are considered as essential workers, a Siemens Gamesa spokesman said.
The spokesman said all employees sent home last week have been paid in full, contrary to claims by union Unite that they would go “unpaid for the week”.
Siemens Gamesa has asked staff to claw back the lost hours over the period to September, the spokesman added.
Unite said it wanted to hold talks with the German-Spanish company over whether blade production is an essential industry during the current public health emergency.
“If it is not, we would want our members furloughed on full-pay,” said regional coordinating officer Simon Coop.
“Our members returning to the site today are rightly anxious whether the new health & safety measures are adequate enough.”