Coronavirus: Hundreds of abattoir workers test positive in Germany
Source: BBC News
Thousands of people in Germany have been told to go into quarantine after a coronavirus outbreak at an abattoir.
More than 650 people have tested positive for the virus at the meat processing plant in Gütersloh, in the north-west of the country.
Operations at the site have been suspended since Wednesday afternoon.
Over 1,000 workers have been tested so far, with thousands of others still awaiting testing. They and the people they came into contact with have been told to been told to remain in quarantine until they receive their results.
Read more: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-53087139
Posted this one to reemphasize the plight of meat processing workers around the globe. Like the U.S., I would wager these German workers are mostly immigrants with no representation or voice.
I sincerely believe meat processing worker sicknesses and deaths in the U.S. are severely under-reported because the companies hide their data and because few workers are willing to report problems for fear of losing their jobs. That conclusion is based on looking at infection and death data from counties where packing plants are located.
KY.......
soothsayer
(38,601 posts)Strelnikov_
(7,772 posts)msongs
(67,441 posts)underpants
(182,878 posts)Googled it but thanks
Drahthaardogs
(6,843 posts)Thanks
OnlinePoker
(5,725 posts)That answers the question on worker's origins. Germany does have stronger labour standards than the U.S., though. But, for any business, the bottom line is paramount so this company also uses contract companies to do some of the work. Whether these skirt the rules, who knows.
https://toennies.de/en/responsibility/sustainability-issues/employer/
KY_EnviroGuy
(14,494 posts)as it clearly shows the proximity of the workers. What it does not show is the hot, humid working conditions on the kill line where workers would be prone to be even more careless due to the working conditions. It's been about 30-years since I did some instrumentation work in a packing plant but was an experience I'll never forget.
Fast forward to the 1:00 min. mark to see those close quarters:
Who knew McDonald's line cooks might be called "die burgermacher"?........
KY