Beef moves too fast at Alberta plant, cleanliness suffers as a result: union
President of union says more than 300 carcasses go by workers every hour
BROOKS, ALTA. — The union for workers at an Alberta meat packer shut down over E. coli concerns says the pace of slaughter operations forces workers to take shortcuts around cleanliness and puts the health of beef- eating Canadians at risk.
Doug O’Halloran, president of the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 401, says the processing line at the XL Foods Lakeside plant in Brooks moves too quickly and he wants to see a public inquiry into the problems that led to the plant’s shutdown.
O’Halloran told a news conference Wednesday that between 300 and 320 carcasses go by workers every hour and employees make between 3,000 and 4,000 cuts a shift. That has resulted in less time in which to make sure knives are sanitized after each cut.
“It’s just not enough time,” O’Halloran said. “We are calling on Lakeside to take it seriously. You can replace all the aluminum, all the stainless steel you want at the plant, but if you don’t give your workers the tools to perform the job properly, we’re not going to solve this problem.”
O’Halloran cited other examples of poor hygiene at the plant.
He said cattle are supposed to be washed before they enter to ensure their fur is free of manure. But sometimes the water is not hot enough to get off all the excrement.
He also said excrement from the cattle has backed up on the killing floor at times and forced workers to traipse through the waste and track it through the plant.
O’Halloran said the plant’s increasing reliance on temporary foreign workers is also a problem. The company has not worked with the union to ensure the workers are properly trained and know what their rights are, he added.
The union boss said whistleblower protection is needed for workers who are afraid to speak out about problems for fear of reprisal.
“Lakeside, you’ve got one chance to get this correct. We understand you’re spending lots of money, but you’re still not listening to the people who are the most important in your food safety — the workers who are doing the job.
“They
are
going
to
get
you through this day and it’s time you woke up and listened to them.”
There were about 80 front- line workers from the plant packed into the media conference room at a Brooks hotel. Most refused to comment, saying their English was poor or they were fearful of getting into trouble.
Wilfer Garcia, who has been working at XL for close to two years after coming to Canada from Colombia, expressed sympathy for those on the line.
“To do a piece of meat, they need, say, 30 seconds to do each one, but because there’s less people, more pieces are coming and they have to put pieces on top of the other ones. It makes a problem,” said Garcia, who works in packing.
Even if several employees don’t show up for work, the pace and expectations remain the same, Garcia said.
“One way or another there’s not enough employees for the 4,000 pieces that they process every day,” he added.
No one from XL Foods Inc. was available for comment. The company has limited its communication to news releases since an expansive recall began.