Viewpoint: Make staff a priority for vaccine roll-out

But the pressure has been relentless and the capacity of the sector to maintain this level of performance should not be taken for granted. The high levels of morale are a tribute to the commitment and professionalism of staff, but we also have feedback that suggests concerns for their own health – and by extension, the health of their families – are an everyday reality.

The roll-out of the vaccine offers a way out of this crisis and it can’t come quick enough.
Governments both north and south of the border are basing their approach on a priority list devised by the Joint Committee on Vaccinations & Immunisation. The very elderly and NHS workers are at the top of the list. Quite rightly so, but we have made a very strong case to the Scottish government that convenience staff should also be given a high priority.

This is not to create winners and losers – the vulnerable must be protected – but there is a growing recognition not just of the contribution convenience stores have made, but of the vital part they play in the overall supply chain.

Convenience stores are at the sharp end of providing vital products and vital services. Convenience stores have helped people stay local, they have massively ramped up deliveries to vulnerable customers and they have continued to drastically reduce the impact of the panic-buying storm that broke over the big supermarkets in the first phase of the pandemic.

Prioritising convenience staff is not a self-centred thing to do (and the tragic events at Tesco in Greenock demonstrate the need for it). Ensuring the health of convenience staff will have a much wider societal benefit, confirm their status as key workers and build on the growing recognition that our sector is the fourth emergency service.

Pete Cheema is chief executive of the Scottish Grocers’ Federation