Moy Park defends safety measures following Covid-19 death of worker

As well as passing on the firm’s condolences to the family of Luciana Viviana da Silva, Moy Park said it was disappointed to have to deal with “inaccurate claims” made by the Unite trade union.

Ms da Silva, aged in her 50s, died on May 3 from coronavirus. She was originally from East Timor in south east Asia.

On Monday, Unite regional officer Sean McKeever said there are “particular challenges in meat processing factories” which require a sector-specific strategy, and added: “ If ministers don’t act to ensure such actions to protect workers, Unite will not sit back and watch while our members’ safety is compromised.”

In response to the Unite statement, a spokesperson for Moy Park said: “We are deeply saddened to learn of the death of one of our team members. Our thoughts are with Luciana’s family and friends at this incredibly difficult time.”

The statement goes on to say: “The terrible impact of the coronavirus pandemic continues to greatly affect everyone’s daily lives throughout our community.

“As we have consistently stated, the health, wellbeing and safety of our Moy Park team members is always our most important consideration.

“It is all the more disappointing therefore to have to respond to these inaccurate claims made by Unite the Union.

“Moy Park worked quickly with all key parties (government, industry bodies, employees and unions) as the Covid-19 crisis unfolded. We evolved our actions to create and implement bespoke solutions early on, with many of them now recognised as leading the way for food processors.

“The key significant measures taken included the following:

• Installation of perspex screens.

• Social distancing / team member traffic flow on site.

• Staggered breaks / socially distanced restaurants.

• Enhanced cleaning and additional PPE.

• Incentive payments to all site based team members.

“These measures have been in place for some time at all our sites and are stringently followed. These are also exactly the type of measures that government guidance is now calling for as other industries return to work.

“We continue to consult, evolve and review our measures to ensure rigorous safety, for example we are in the process of introducing thermal temperature scanning of all team members as they arrive at work.

“We reiterate, Moy Park follows all government guidelines and work closely with the Public Health Agency, DAERA and the Health and Safety Executive, adhering strictly to their advice and protocols. We have received positive feedback following a recent unannounced inspection by the HSE that was conducted at one of our other sites, which has the same measures in place to those at Dungannon.

“The inspection focused solely on the controls which we have in place to ensure employee safety in relation to Covid-19. We will continue to update our procedures in line with their guidance.

“We work tirelessly to protect the safety of our team and we formally review the situation daily. Finally, we just want to say how incredibly proud we are of all of our people, who truly deserve the name of being Food Heroes, as they aim to help feed the nation during this crisis.”