THOUGH absenteeism levels among employees at an East Lancashire council that are among the worst in the country have already provoked an accusation that some are skiving, new figures suggesting that almost half the sickness is due to stress.

This demands closer investigation.

The claim that much of the stress blamed for 42 per cent of all absenteeism among Blackburn with Darwen council staff is from "outside influences" warrants particular scrutiny.

For if this is the case, how can it be that the stress entailed in town hall employees' private lives differs from that of workers in the private sector where the average number of days off sick is less than half that in some of the council's departments?

It is a question that suggests that rather than implying that the cause of the stress problem lies beyond its control the council should delve deeper in-house and look not only for skiving, but also at whether workloads, staffing levels and management methods are contributing to this excessive absence.

Lessons need to be learned from the private sector where control of absenteeism levels seems far more efficient.

Council tax payers need answers when sickness among the town hall's 5,000 employees is responsible in just one year for the loss of more than 178 years-worth of working days.