Abattoir staff in fears over Covid cases

AN abattoir worker claims staff were stunned when they were told to continue working despite an outbreak of Covid-19 at the facility.

Employees at the Quality Pork Processors slaughterhouse in Brechin contacted the Tele claiming there have been up to a dozen cases of the virus, with the first positive tests possibly recorded as long ago as last week.

One worker, who wished to remain anonymous, said: “There is an outbreak there. I came off to get tested last night and I’m staying off just now, as a precaution for my family.

“I don’t know if the person who tested positive told the management but what I’m led to believe is he tested positive last week and still came to his work.”

The employee also claimed to be in the dark over what safety and clean-up measures had been taken once news of the outbreak emerged.

He said: “There are obviously food standards people who come in checking, and vets who check the safety of the pigs to make sure they’re not being harmed before the kill.

“But this seems to be a case of the firm just not doing certain things right.”

The worker claimed there were three people he knew of who had tested positive and 17 employees sent home as of Wednesday.

He also said rather than the company organising workforce testing, it was being left up to individuals to get tested themselves.

“Obviously I’ve not been in, I went for a test last night and I’m waiting for the results,” he added.

“The staff are not happy at all. A lot of them have young kids. To me, it’s disgraceful the way it’s been handled.

“We’ve had nothing at all from the management to tell us what’s going on.”

The staff member said people who had tested positive working around produce that would eventually be sold in shops and consumed by people was “extremely worrying”.

Others have also condemned the handling of the incident.

The mother of one employee said: “I don’t work there personally but my son works there.

“He reported to me that 12 cases were found last week and everyone got tested and some more have come back positive again this week. But the factory is still open for business.”

Quality Pork Processors was approached for comment.