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The Health and Safety Authority(HSA) should perform random and unannounced examinations of all meat processing centers and they need to utilize their comprehensive powers of enforcement to close these down if it is proper, the trade union motion has said.
In an opening statement to the Oireachtas committee on Covid-19, general secretary of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (Ictu) Patricia King said regular testing of all employees in the meat processing sector must be presented along with a re-assessment of making use of personal protective equipment (PPE) in meat plants.
She said Ictu thought workers should be paid where they had actually tested favorable and were on authorized leave, where they were self-isolating or in circumstances where they were laid off briefly from their job.
Ms King criticised the HSA and said the organisation appeared to view Covid-19 “as a public health matter and not a security, health and welfare at work concern”.
The HSA told the committee that considering that the economy and society started resuming, it had carried out 3,820 inspections/investigations, of which 2,844 resolved Covid-19 procedures in the Government’s return-to-work procedure, throughout a wide variety of workplaces and industry sectors, consisting of meat processing plants.
HSA chief executive Sharon McGuinness said assessment sees to meat processing centers with known outbreaks “were pre-advised at short notification to guarantee that appropriate management and other key personnel were offered to facilitate an extensive assessment of the plants”.
” In the primary, authority evaluations are unannounced. In certain circumstances, minimal advance notice may be required for operational reasons. For instance, where it is essential for inspectors to meet with specific individuals at the place of work or to make sure a specific work activity is being undertaken so regarding permit inspectors to observe.”
Ms McGuinness stated the Department of Agriculture had a constant presence in meat processing plants and was the lead company for this sector. She stated it was responsible for examining such plants continued to implement the guidance and prevention steps advised by the National Outbreak Control Group in addition to checking compliance with the protocol.
‘ Major defect’
Ms King stated there was “a major defect” in present regulations which the Federal government must quickly correct to classify Covid-19 as an occupational injury. She stated this would provide statutory security to workers in the face of Covid-19
” The impact of its exemption from the scope of current policies is that the employer is not required to notify the HSA of events of staff members having contracted the disease in the course of their employment.
” Subsequently, the HSA can not undertake an investigation so as to develop how it might have occurred. Nor can it advise or offer instructions on the avoidance of similar occurrences.”
She said Ictu was “very dissatisfied that the HSA appears not to be supportive of this remedy”.
The trade union Siptu informed the committee that the absence of sick pay was “forcing susceptible employees to go into work, even if they are feeling weak with possible Covid symptoms”.
It preserved in an opening declaration “circa 90 percent of workers within the market do not have sick pay”.
” This is a considerable contributing factor to the spread of Covid-19 within the workplace.”
Siptu divisional organiser Greg Ennis called for improved sick pay terms, including for employers to top up the pandemic joblessness payment to the exact same level as a worker’s typical profits.
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