Conestoga Meats struggled to secure protective equipment early in the pandemic
BRESLAU — Conestoga Meats says it struggled to secure personal protective equipment for its workers as supplies were diverted to high-priority sites such as hospitals, confirming concerns raised by multiple employees.
Insufficient face masks and empty hand-sanitizer stations. Holes drilled into protective face shields to prevent them from fogging up, and cardboard dividers separating workers in the break room.
These are just some of the conditions workers faced in the days and weeks leading up to the decision to shut the pork processor down last Friday for one week. More than half a dozen workers have tested positive for COVID-19.
Several employees reached out to The Record with detailed complaints about what it was like inside the plant and said they were afraid to go to work or speak publicly about their employer.
In a statement to The Record Wednesday, the meat packing plant said its response to the pandemic and worker safety has been “a fluid and evolutionary process” influenced by new advice from public health on
measures to protect workers, and the “sporadic” availability of protective gear.
“We have encouraged employees to raise their concerns and we have acted on their suggestions to make the work environment as safe as possible.”
The company employs close to 1,000 people and processes about 37,000 hogs per week. The plant is a farmer-owned co-operative of more than 150 paid members.
Last week, Conestoga Meats announced seven workers had tested positive for the virus and anyone who was possibly exposed was told to isolate for 14 days. The company has not said how many employees are in isolation.
It’s been difficult to secure enough supplies such as hand sanitizer during the pandemic, the company admitted.
“Like most work sites, we ran out of sanitizer for a time and couldn’t get supply as sanitizer was appropriately being sent to health care sites as a first priority,” the statement said.
Hand washing has been a priority at Conestoga Meats, even prior to COVID-19, and workers were urged to continue washing their hands multiple times throughout the day until more hand sanitizer could be delivered.
“We have since been resupplied with hand sanitizer,” along with new cleaners to fight COVID-19, the statement said.
Face masks were also initially unavailable since they were “distributed to health care workers and first responders as the first priority.” Masks have only recently been delivered to the processing facility, but the exact date of their arrival was not provided.
Conestoga Meats said it ordered two types of face shields for its employees and they arrived sooner than the masks, but were modified by drilling holes above the workers’ eyes in order to vent heat and prevent them from fogging up.
The company says it was done “without compromising the protection afforded by the masks,” but one employee expressed concern about the holes to The Record.
Face masks were also modified to maintain hearing protection inside the plant — the company didn’t elaborate how — and “without compromising the masks’ protective qualities.”
Even when protective equipment was available, several employees said they saw colleagues not wearing it properly.
Conestoga Meats said changing personal behaviour inside the plant to adapt to new COVID-19 protection protocols “has not always been easy” and more oversight to ensure protective wear is used properly and consistently will be added when the plant resumes processing.
To help monitor worker health, Conestoga Meats says a registered nurse has been on site 24 hours per day, five days per week since late March, but those nurses only recently began conducting all screening and temperature checks.
Plant supervisors and members of the health and safety committee were initially tasked with asking workers about their health or possible contact with someone who was at risk of contracting COVID-19.
“Anyone answering affirmative to any of the screening questions was sent to the nurse for secondary screening,” the company said. Employee temperature checks were delayed as their first three thermometer orders were redirected to health care sites, the company said.
Thermal cameras also took five weeks to arrive and are being installed this week.
When asked about social distancing within the plant, Conestoga
Meats said measures were put in place early in the pandemic. Meeting rooms were turned into lunchrooms, heated tents were provided to give employees more space, the punch clock was reand moved.
Cardboard dividers were used as a temporary measure to protect workers on their breaks until permanent Plexiglas dividers could be fabricated. They are also being installed this week.
Conestoga Meats said attendance has “varied” since the start of the pandemic, and workers have been earning a $2 per hour premium since March 23.
The Ministry of Labour has investigated three complaints related to COVID-19 at the plant in recent weeks. On March 24, the ministry received one complaint related to a lack of personal protective equipment. On April 22 the ministry received two more complaints, including physical distancing inside the plant.
All three complaints were investigated via telephone and no orders or requirements were issued by the ministry.
“Our No. 1 priority is ensuring we have all the information necessary to judge whether workers are being kept safe,” the ministry said in a statement.
During remote inspections, inspectors engage with both the employer and workers and may request documentation in order to assess work conditions. When asked for a copy of the final report or a transcript of the inspection, the ministry said a freedom of information request is required.