GMB urges coronavirus supply chain summit to set worker safety standards

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staff workers making sandwiches

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GMB has sent a letter to the heads of Asda, Morrisons, Sainsbury’s, Tesco, M&S, Lidl and Aldi
The union has identified “numerous employers” refusing to give essential workers full pay if they are absent due to Covid-19

An emergency Covid-19 supply chain summit between government, the major supermarkets and the FDF is being called for by the union representing food production workers, to implement minimum industry standards during the coronavirus crisis.

GMB, which has more than 600,000 members at major manufacturers such as Bakkavor, Burton’s Biscuits, Nestlé, Pladis and Moy Park, is concerned “serious” gaps in standards on sick pay and social distancing are increasing risks for factory workers

The union has sent a letter to the heads of Asda, Morrisons, Sainsbury’s, Tesco, M&S, Lidl and Aldi, as well as Defra and the FDF, asking for an urgent meeting.

“As a major UK retailer, we believe that you can play a vital role in setting and raising standards, leading and supporting compliance throughout the food and drink supply chain,” GMB leader Tim Roache writes in the letter.

“However, GMB is concerned that despite leadership shown by some employers, there are serious gaps in standards throughout the supply chain amongst many major food and drink employers. We are concerned that this could undermine consumer confidence in the supply chain, similar to the experience during the horsemeat scandal, which ultimately could impact on the reputations of retailers.”

The union is calling for a set of industry standard to be adopted, including:

Full pay from day on for any Covid-19 related absences
Suspending absence management policies and any potential employee sanctions
Regular and rigorous Covid-19 testing
Agreed measures with workplace representatives in place to ensure social distancing across sites
Any required PPE identified via a risk assessment
Individual risk assessments for workers with underlying conditions
Enhanced cleaning and hygiene regimes

GMB added it had identified “numerous employers” refusing to pay essential workers full pay if they were absent due to Covid-19, with some workers only paid statutory sick pay of £95.85 a week.

The union told The Grocer this was “a weak link” in the chain and that it incentivised employees to continue to work when they should be self-isolating.

National officer Eamon O’Hearn said: “Food and drink workers are essential to ensuring our supermarket shelves are stocked and our communities stay fed. GMB is working successfully with a number of employers to take a lead on standards, but too many are not meeting the challenge.

“Employers cannot put profit and production over the safety of essential workers. Now is the time for the industry to step up to the plate and do everything possible to reduce the risk of the virus impacting on essential workers in our food supply chain.”

The letter comes after a secretly filmed video was released to the media earlier this month of a Bakkavor operations manager admitting social distancing was not possible and raising the threat of redundancies for employees who failed to attend work.

At the time, Bakkavor said in a statement the operations manager had confused furloughing with redundancy and had also made “inappropriate comments”. The manager has also been placed on leave.