Moy Park spends £4 million on Covid-19 protection for staff
Poultry processor Moy Park has spent £4million on safety and supportive measures to help protect its staff against coronavirus. Included in the investment are advanced safety measures, as well as enhanced reward packages for team members to thank them for their efforts as key workers.
The move follows several issues the company has had with its staff during the Covid-19 pandemic when workers, several of whom showed symptoms of the virus, complained that not enough was being done to protect them. Staff staged protests at some of the company’s premises and a trade union called for a factory to be closed down after, sadly, one worker who had contracted the virus passed away.
Our key workers are food heroes who have been working harder than ever to ensure we continue to provide society with safe, nutritious food in these uncertain and unprecedented times. – Moy Park
Installed screens
Now the company has installed Perspex screens, one-way flow systems on site, staggered breaks and socially distanced rest and break areas as well as offering additional PPE. The company is also rolling out thermal temperature screening technology at its sites as another protective step to stop Covid-19 entering its facilities. Kirsty Wilkins, HR and performance director at Moy Park insisted the company was proud of its team and praised their efforts. She said: “Our key workers are food heroes who have been working harder than ever to ensure we continue to provide society with safe, nutritious food in these uncertain and unprecedented times. We are proud of our team and their efforts to feed the nation and keep our supermarket shelves stocked. Safety is a condition at Moy Park, and we have worked tirelessly over the last 11 weeks to implement all best practice measures available to help safeguard our food heroes.”
Government guidelines on Covid
The spokesperson continues: “We follow all government guidelines and created bespoke solutions early on, with many of them now recognised as leading the way for food processors.” The company has produced a video to help visualise the efforts it has gone to help protect its staff. Kirsty said: “It can be hard to visualise what a food production facility looks likes so we filmed a walk around one of our sites to show how the safety measures work in practice on a typical day.” “As a food business, we already operate to some of the highest standards globally and our teams work in a controlled hygienic environment, which is routinely sanitised and where strict handwashing and other cleanliness protocols are the norm. Our strategy is focused on doing everything we can to halt the virus from coming into our facilities, and to minimise any potential spread. We will continue to evaluate the situation daily and take all measures necessary to safeguard our staff,” she said.
