Video footage has emerged from a management briefing at food processing company Bakkavor Meals London, where workers were threatened with the sack if they missed work amid the coronavirus outbreak.
Sean Madden, Bakkavor’s Head of Operations at the company’s Elveden plant, was secretly filmed telling factory workers that it was not possible to practice the government’s social distancing policies, and any employee that chose to stay at home during the crisis would be first in line for any possible future redundancies.
It comes following a joint statement from the TUC Joint Council, HSE and CBO made last week warning that employers who do not comply with the latest Public Health England guidance, including by not introducing social distancing measures, face being hit with enforcement notices and potential closure.
Shortly after the video emerged, Andre Marques, a GMB Union organiser which represents some workers on the site, said: “GMB London is calling for urgent action to be taken to protect the safety of workers at Bakkavor Meals, including the immediate introduction of social distancing and proper Personal Protective Equipment.
“The footage seen by GMB, shows a manager demonstrating how to put on a snood to keep their mouths covered but worryingly this is not proper PPE, as defined by the Personal Protective Equipment Regulation 2002, and also the Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations 1992. Bakkavor workers were told to wash their snoods at least once a week and dry it on the radiator. This is not acceptable.
“There is absolutely no excuse for any Employer to be putting their staff at such risk and no excuse for not complying with the COVID-19 guidance.”
In response, a Bakkover spokesman told ITV: “We take this very seriously and are investigating the matter. We apologise to our Elveden staff for any miscommunication or worry caused. The manager in question has been given leave and prior to his return to work, he will undertake further training around his role and responsibilities and the high standards we expect of a Bakkavor manager.
“Our advice to all our staff is to stay at home if they are feeling unwell or believe they have symptoms or if they are self isolating due to members of their household displaying symptoms – points that were communicated at the staff briefing you have footage from.”
