Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees
Friday, 10 July 2020
Special Committee on Covid-19 Response
Congregated Settings: Meat Plants
Ms Edel McGinley:
I am sorry, it is the majority. There are smaller factories as well. We hear from workers that there is PPE and temperature testing but social distancing is still an issue. Because of the production lines in the industry people are still in quite close proximity to each other and it is hard to social distance. People are still concerned for their health and safety at the moment and they are really concerned that the practices are kept up in terms of the measures that have been introduced. There is a concern that they are just in place in the case of an inspection. Some 60% of workers do not know who their health and safety officer is. There is such a history of non-compliance and lack of value that people are really worried that the protections that have been put in place will slip. We have seen that in the past.
No comments