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REPRESENTATIVES OF SIPTU and Meat Industry Ireland (MII) have agreed what is being described as a “wide-ranging safety protocol” for workers in the meat processing industry aimed at suppressing Covid-19 outbreaks.
The protocol includes a commitment to maintain serial testing of workers at meat plants, ongoing health screening, temperature testing, the mandatory use of PPE and stringent hygiene controls.
A joint employer/worker forum will be established in a number of areas to ensure full compliance with these measures, Siptu said.
Meat plants have been a significant source of Covid-19 outbreaks since the onset of the pandemic, and in excess of 1,500 cases have been linked to outbreaks in such settings.
When localised restrictions were brought in for Kildare, Laois and Offaly in early August, the surge in cases in these areas were linked back to outbreaks in the likes of meat plants and Direct Provision centres.
Siptu had long called for greater protections for workers in such settings, and the HSE recently implemented serial testing of workers at these plants – although that was postponed for a period last week.
Its manufacturing division organiser Greg Ennis said today: “The fact that this protocol has been completed in conjunction with MII demonstrates there is a coherent approach by employers and workers’ representatives in the industry which places the health of workers, their families and the wider community as its main priority.
The work of HSE testers in implementing the programme of serial testing at meat plants has also been outstanding. Such serial testing of workforces in the industry must be maintained if we are to minimise the occurrence of outbreaks at processing plants.
It must be remembered that with this virus, no one is safe until everybody is safe.
In a statement, MII said that the new code of conduct will formalise the existing suite of measures in place at meat plants.
Its director Cormac Healy said: “We are pleased to have worked with Siptu to agree this set of safety protocols to protect employees in our sector. It formalises a wide range of measures that have already been put in place and will provide reassurance that the industry is 100% committed to taking all appropriate steps to mitigate the risk posed by Covid-19.
“The sharp reduction in clusters in meat plants and the low rate of positive test incidence shown by the ongoing serial testing is indicative that the efforts being made are working. However, there is no room for complacency. Given the wider community trends in Covid-19 cases, continued vigilance and rigorous enforcement of mitigation measures and testing, track and trace is essential.”
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It’s quite extraordinary that there are story after story about the meat factories, followed by hundreds of hysterical “CLOSE THE MEAT FACTORIES!” comments, when the obvious fact is most workers are experiencing mild or no symptoms, and there has been zero deaths linked to meat factories. https://www.independent.ie/world-news/coronavirus/explainer-no-deaths-among-meat-workers-but-conditions-in-plants-described-as-perfect-storm-for-spread-of-virus-39431985.html
This is a mild illness in the vast vast majority of people – and is primarily only dangerous in Nursing Homes – which NPHET catastrophically mis-managed. How does this fact get passed over, over and over again?
And yes, it’s a mild illness comparable to influenza – Fully cited regularly updated source here https://swprs.org/studies-on-covid-19-lethality/
@Mark K: “Overall, we rate Swiss Policy Research (SPR) a Moderate Conspiracy website based on the promotion of unproven claims. We also rate them Mixed for factual reporting due to the use of poor sources and complete lack of transparency.”
Will you just stop.
@Kem Trayle: Oh ffs – there are links to literally hundreds of studies in that resource. Try reading them, this isn’t rocket science.
@Mark K: This is just gloss to keep the compliant people happy. All bluster and no substance.
As Mark K says above its all just a common cold.
NPHET are blowing this whole thing out of all proportion, its like the moving statues years ago.
Mass hysteria.
And the same gullible ones and their sons and daughters now, watching statues dancing all over the gaffe are the ones having the people dance to their tune.
It’s all in yer heads lads. Yez are all losing the plot.
@Mark K: Oh ffs – there are literally thousands of reliable sources that don’t cherry-pick the reports they feed you. Try reading them, this isn’t rocket science.
Fair play to Siptu for getting this sorted for all workers across the meat industry.
@Brendan:
Very valuable and productive Union intervention in a vital sector to the economy – meat processing, also impacting farmers, retail, consumers and exports.
Whilst it’s a tight margin industry, all players coining it in the supply chain, namely retail and processors, should loosen the purse strings a little to reward the farmer and production staff in the factories with a little more of the cream!
@Brendan: balls, they should have been doing this for their members a long time ago and also let’s be honest, the only reason companies are agreeing is to save face,labour law here is too one sided and from working in a sector that treated people like s.c.u.m, staff from certain places are too afraid to say anything for fear of loosing jobs that they have been in for years. Unions are great for the public sector but have seriously under represented private staff for many years now
Fair play to the workers and their employers for developing this protocol to help get meat factories covid safe. Any one else think it very strange that this initiative is announced a day after SF Doherty went on a rant about ‘beef barons’ ‘playing with lives’! Pearse must have known that they were about to announce this protocol and he would not have anything to moan about today!
@Fionn Darland: lads read the article, all it does is formalises controls already in place at plants that were there. SINN Fein on a rant every day about something and most of it is on hearsay or social media let articles. As a life long supporter and voter of them I am getting fed up with it all.
have your say