The latest COVID-19 outbreaks in Irish meat processing plants are the “absolutely inevitable” result of poor pay and working conditions, according to the Unite trade union.

Hundreds of cases at plants in Kildare, Laois and Offaly have contributed to a worrying rise in the virus nationally – with a two-week lockdown imposed on all three counties last week.

On The Hard Shoulder this evening, Unite spokesperson Brendan Ogle said the industry is engaged in a “race to the bottom” in terms of pay and conditions.

“I am aware that some people will be listening to this in business and they will be saying, ‘there is a union fella on the radio and he has to be wrong because I am in business,’ he said.

“This isn’t about that. This is about us all. There are businesses in these three countries, in Laois, Offaly and Kildare at the moment, who have done everything possible to protect themselves, to protect their staff and to protect their customers.

“Some of them I know have borrowed money to put situations in place and they have been forced into lockdown because of absolutely predictable practices by a multi-Billion Euro industry.

“You know the beef barons aren’t down to their last million any time soon and now small little businesses, shops, cafés and weddings [are shut down].”

"Race to the bottom"

He said the conditions for low-paid workers right around the country left Ireland “completely ill-prepared” for the outbreak.

“If we run things on the basis of the lowest possible pay; the worst possible conditions; no sick schemes and we congregate people in poor accommodation - on caravan sites - [then we’ll have the worst possible outcomes],” he said.

Mr Ogle said it is essential the country now takes a step back and learns something from the pandemic.

Conditions

“People are entitled to sick pay schemes during a pandemic,” he said.

“People are entitled to know who is in charge in work. People are entitled to basic pay where they can go to a doctor or take a few days off and self-isolate for two weeks.

“People are entitled to accommodation where they have room to self-isolate; where there is not 15 to 20 people and there is not some sort of link-up between these employers who have bad practices and Direct Provision centres.

“It is not about targeting businesses. It is not about the left; it is not about the right. There are poor practices here and where they are allowed to run rampant, which is what is happening in these plants, it is affecting society.”