Maple Leaf workers call for Brandon plant shutdown

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This article was published 25/08/2020 (2011 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Maple Leaf Foods workers in Brandon are calling for a two-week shutdown of operations at the local plant in an open letter sent out Monday morning to members of the media.

The letter, which was released with the help of migrant worker advocacy group Migrante Manitoba, calls into question the provincial government and Maple Leaf’s assertion that cases of the virus are not being transmitted at the plant.

“The claim from the Maple Leaf President and CEO as well as the provincial government that the employees’ cases are linked to community gatherings and interactions, and are not linked to the plant is unacceptable,” the letter reads. “Many of our co-workers have limited interactions with the community outside of the facility, while seeing confirmed cases rising. It is clear that the spread of COVID among workers at Maple Leaf is a direct result of our employment at Maple Leaf, and the working and living conditions we endure while working for this company.”

See ‘Safety’ — Page A2

» ‘Safety will remain our top priority’: Maple Leaf

This open letter represents the thoughts of approximately 200 workers at the plant, Migrante Manitoba organizer Miwa Marcelino said. According to him, copies of the letter have been sent to Premier Brian Pallister, Health Minister Cameron Friesen, Manitoba NDP Leader Wab Kinew, Manitoba Liberal Leader Dougald Lamont, Brandon West Progressive Conservative MLA Reg Helwer and Brandon East Progressive Conservative MLA Len Isleifson.

Maple Leaf has suspended pork exports to China because of the outbreak and required some employees to work mandatory overtime last Saturday out of concerns for the welfare of the hogs waiting to be processed in Brandon.

Other demands made by the workers include a deep cleaning of the entire plant, ensuring that every employee gets tested for the virus and job security and wage protection for staff during any shutdown.

The letter also echoes concerns made by an anonymous employee at the plant to the Winnipeg Free Press earlier this month that the company has not taken steps to improve safety in common areas like bathrooms and the cafeteria.

“On April 18, 2020 during the pandemic, the facility changed the staff locker area, and made the area very crowded and impossible to keep physical distancing for workers,” the letter reads. “The facility also didn’t consider new health measures for washrooms. There are no measures to keep physical distancing for workers, no staggered times for washroom access, and workers often go to the washroom at the same time. There is no place to wash hands in the cafeteria, no hand sanitizer in the cafeteria. Since the week of August 17, workers found that no doctors are issuing doctor’s notes for sick leave.”

Speaking to the Sun on Monday, United Food and Commercial Workers Local 832 president Jeff Traeger said he agrees with the requests made by employees in the letter.

“This is what happens when a large group of people who are in a difficult situation don’t get enough attention,” he said. “UFCW has been telling the company, the government, the minister, Public Health, we’ve written to Dr. Roussin, we’ve written to Cameron Friesen, we’ve talked to senior Maple Leaf management, we’ve told them that our folks are scared. We’ve polled our members and more than 90 per cent of them don’t feel safe going to work.”

However, he said that he could not independently confirm workplace-based transmission of the virus.

The number of Maple Leaf employees who have contracted the virus has risen to 74, he said. Of those, 62 are active cases and 12 have recovered.

In response to the letter, Maple Leaf vice-president of communications Janet Riley said in an email to the Sun that the company’s response to the outbreak has been guided by science and that Public Health has not found evidence of workplace-based transmission at the plant.

“People safety will remain our top priority and we will continue to conduct daily health and temperature screenings, require masks and other personal protection equipment, use social distancing in the plant and use plexiglass separators between work stations,” Riley wrote. “We’ve even brought trailers in to enable our Team Members to spread out during breaks.

“We take the concerns raised in the letter today seriously. Because we are always seeking ways to improve, we welcome any constructive suggestions to strengthen the safety measures already in place.”

Asked about the letter during Monday’s COVID update, chief provincial public health officer Dr. Brent Roussin did not name Maple Leaf but said the workplace has been putting extra safety measures in place and has been very co-operative during the current situation.

He reiterated that there has been no evidence of workplace-based transmission and there are no agencies recommending the closure of the plant. If there was evidence of a small amount of workplace transmission, the government’s first step would be to implement safety measures he said have already been put in place on site before a closure would be considered.

» cslark@brandonsun.com

» Twitter: @ColinSlark