Workers at poultry processing plant Moy Park are calling for Stormont ministers to take urgent action after a worker at the firm’s Dungannon plant has died from Covid-19.
A spokesman for Unite, the union, said clusters of infection had been reported at a growing number of poultry and meatpacking sites across the region.
A report by ITV said the woman is understood to have been in her 50s.
The news comes less than two months after up to 150 workers at the same plant walked out in protest over fears their health was being put at risk to Covid-19.
In response, the firm said it had identified seven areas to enhance social distancing and would also take measures such as staggering breaks, re-spacing workstations and communal areas, as well as installing screens on appropriate production lines.
However, the union is now calling for Moy Park’s Dungannon site to be temporarily shut down while the entire workforce and their families are tested for the virus.
Unite also called for bosses to offer workers full pay while this takes place and urged the Health and Safety Executive Northern Ireland (HSENI) to conduct unannounced physical inspections of meat processing sites to assess the measures in place to control infection.
Sean McKeever, regional officer for Unite, demanded that the Northern Ireland Executive act urgently to bring forward an emergency response to the rising number of Covid-19 clusters among workplaces in the poultry and meat industries.
Unite has now confirmed that a worker based in Moy Park Dungannon has died following contracting the Covid-19 virus. This is devastating news and we would like to extend our condolences to her friends and family.
“For some time our union has been raising our concerns about the failure of management to ensure proper social distancing on production lines in Moy Park sites in Dungannon and Portadown.
“Sadly, the Health and Safety Executive has yet to conduct a physical inspection on either site – the dreadful news that this female worker lost her life does not come as a huge surprise.
“We are aware of outbreaks in Moy Park sites at both Dungannon and Portadown – and yesterday Unite exposed clusters forming in a growing number of meatpacking sites.
Workers across the Poultry and Meat sectors are hugely concerned for their safety and the Mid Ulster area is now suffering a higher rate of infection than any other part of Northern Ireland.
“The Northern Ireland Executive must act now before it is too late. We don’t want to see a repeat of their inaction that led to the crisis and avoidable deaths in our care homes.
“There are particular challenges in meat processing factories which mean they need a sector-specific strategy.
We want to avoid the risk of the industry facing the same crisis as in the USA and Brazil where tens of thousands of workers have caught this virus.
“If Ministers don’t act to ensure such actions to protect workers, Unite will not sit back and watch while our members’ safety is compromised,” McKeever said.
Editor’s note: An update on this story can be found here: Unannounced inspection found Moy Park site had ‘high standard’ of Covid measures.
