The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
Factory workers to isolate or lose their pay
2 Sisters management guarantee wages in full for their 900 employees during outbreak but only if they stay in quarantine
Workers at a Covid-crisis chicken factory have been told to self-isolate or risk losing their pay.
Management at the 2 Sisters plant in Coupar Angus have been in talks with union officials and the Scottish Government about how to pay staff while the factory remains shut.
All 900 employees were told last night they will get paid in full – but only if they stay in quarantine.
The ultimatum comes as the number of positive coronavirus cases linked to the factory rose to 152, including 134 employees and 18 of their community contacts.
Messages sent from site director Brian Glennie said: “The leadership team has decided that all colleagues will receive 100% pay for the period they are required to self-isolate.”
He said he was pleased the Scottish Government had agreed to support the firm and “recognised the acute pressures closure has brought”.
However, Mr Glennie also told colleagues: “Please note that receiving full pay is conditional.”
Staff won’t get full pay if they “don’t comply with government guidance on self-isolation during the self-isolation period”.
They could also get their pay cut if they don’t return to work when the site reopens.
“These measures are designed to prevent further spread of the infection in the local community, so I ask for your full co-operation,” Mr Glennie said.
There had been concern that the stay-at-home message was not getting through to everyone at the factory, where a total of 17 languages are spoken.
Over the weekend, police had to deal with reports of sightings of factory workers out and about in the local area.
Staff have been told the only reason they – or the people they live with – can leave their homes is to get a test.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon confirmed at her daily briefing that there was no evidence of widespread community transmission from the outbreak.
The Courier understand this has prevented the need for tougher restrictions, such as the measures imposed in Aberdeen.
The George Street site is closed until the end of the month, and all staff and everyone else in their households – including children – have been told to isolate, even if they test negative for the virus.
Council crews have delivered more than 700 food parcels to workers in their homes across the Perth and Kinross area.
Local authority leader Murray Lyle said: “The fact that there has been no evidence of a transmission into the community is very important, and that’s the reason why we are not facing a lockdown like the one in Aberdeen.
“It’s a different sort of outbreak and it demands a different response.”
Mr Lyle revealed that council chief executive Karen Reid called for the factory to be closed on the night of Sunday August 16, after the first cases were detected.
Mr Lyle said sightings of staff workers outside their homes reported to the police appeared to be “misunderstandings rather than anything more nefarious”.
In the past week, nearly 3,500 tests have been carried out across Tayside, with 1,000 of these at two temporary units set up especially for factory workers in Coupar Angus and Dundee.
Dr Emma Fletcher, associate director of public health for NHS Tayside, said: “Today’s increase in numbers was anticipated by the team managing the outbreak as the high volume of contact tracing, which was under way over the weekend, has now been largely complete.
“We are seeing fewer new cases today for follow-up, however detailed contact tracing continues and we remain in a high state of vigilance across Tayside.”
On Friday, Police Scotland promised to monitor incidents of hate crimes linked to the factory outbreak. It followed widespread online abuse aimed at workers of eastern European origin.
Local Chief Inspector Graham Binnie said yesterday: “No direct reports have been made to police, however we are continuing to monitor the situation and any potential community tensions.”