Food pickers and the virus

It was migrant workers in Germany who were ‘blamed’ for the coronavirus outbreak in the meat factory. They were housed in crowded dilapidated buildings. Similarly in Singapore it was migrants in crowded dormitories.
Migrants should be checked on arrival and housed in decent accommodation. Not sure about the caravans in Herefordshire.

There's a lot of unfounded speculation on this thread.

Six people per static van is not overcrowding; they have at least three bedrooms, a lounge and separate kitchen and bathroom. But are they all plumbed in? If they are using the toilet and shower facilities usually provided by campsites that would be dangerous.

ladymuck

Do they know where the virus originated in this case? Were some of the workers already carrying it when they came into the country?

It doesn't really matter.

Fruit pickers go shopping and visit the local town, just like everybody else. Given that the UK has a higher infection rate than other European countries, it's highly likely that infection was picked up in the UK.

Responsible growers quarantine pickers when the first arrive from abroad.

I really don’t think six people to a static caravan is ‘overcrowding’!

merlotgran

The farm is in Hereford.

Please don't jump to conclusions about insanitary conditions although social distancing might be difficult.

I agree merlotgran.

Do they know where the virus originated in this case? Were some of the workers already carrying it when they came into the country?

welbeck Sun 12-Jul-20 18:06:04
a kentish girl enquired and agreed to work then told she must pay big chunk of it for accomm on site. she said i don't need that i live down the road. then we don't need you, was the answer.

BlueBelle Mon 13-Jul-20 10:05:17
they do advertise for locals but they don’t want the jobs it’s notoriously difficult to get local people to do these mundane jobs

I applied TWICE via the national website that was set up when it became clear that there would be a shortage of pickers (I wouldn't have been physically up to the job in reality). No reply to either application.

Does give the lie to not being able to get British staff though, if they ONLY recruit foreign nationals. Not that I personally have an opinion on that. I'm not a Brexiteer.

lemongrove

It would have been much better if at the start (March) the owners had started advertising for local pickers who don’t have to be put up in mobile homes to ease the crowding factor.

Local workers would be travelling to and fro. Their families would have been at risk of infection and some of them might be married to key workers.

There was a lot of uncertainty way back in March (how long ago that seems now) so there would have been some reluctance to commit.

And some would have thought, 'In your dreams, Matey!'

But that’s 6 People per mobile home terrible crowded and of course a hot bed for CV
lemongrove they do advertise for locals but they don’t want the jobs it’s notoriously difficult to get local people to do these mundane jobs I remember listening to a radio interview with a taxi owner and him being asked why he didn’t employ more local drivers and he said he'd. tried and tried but Local drivers didnt wanted the late hours the early mornings and the weekend work so he employed ‘foreign’ drivers who were happy to do them

Of course I wash fruit and veg I just don’t wash it in chemicals the thought of washing it with chemical laden washing up liquid or bleach or disinfectant makes my toes curl

Do viruses replicate in freezer conditions NanHev? I thought they just remained stable for years, ready to replicate when they defrost?

merlotgran

The farm is in Hereford.

Please don't jump to conclusions about insanitary conditions although social distancing might be difficult.

I think either way, though, the employers have a total duty of care and responsibility for keeping their workers safe.
Is this the farm in question?

A HEREFORDSHIRE farm has gone into lockdown after 73 workers tested positive for coronavirus, sparking fears the harvest season could fuel further outbreaks. Around 200 staff at A S Green and Co, which supplies Marks & Spencer, Sainsbury’s Aldi and Asda, will spend the next two weeks isolated in mobile home accommodation in a bid to control the spread
Last night, Public Health England (PHE) described the outbreak on the family owned farm at Mathon near Malvern as the first of its kind. It comes as tens of thousands of seasonal farm hands congregate across the country as the harvest season gets into full swing
Contacts between farms and their local communities are likely to be higher than usual this summer because travel restrictions have forced farmers to rely more on local labour rather than foreign workers. Wide-scale testing on Rook Row Farm was introduced early last week after a handful of staff developed symptoms of Covid-19
Local officials said initial results showed “a significant percentage of positive cases, despite these individuals being asymptomatic”
Although a warm outdoor environment is believed to hamper the spread of Covid-19, as at A S Green and Co, many temporary farm workers spend the season in shared accommodation

Farms also have to make a profit - is this another result of our constant pressure on supermarkets etc for cheap food ? .

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I heard a strawberry grower on R4 talking about her pickers, and she has many return workers coming over from EU and staying for months. They are quarantined for 2 weeks on arrival, and are paid during this time. They are paid the minimum rate plus a piece rate, and it is a skilled job.

She said one of her workers can earn £350 a day. When there were ads aimed at U.K. pickers who were furloughed or out of work, earlier this week she had no suitable applicants. Perhaps the 4.30am start put them off.

This seemed a decent employer, but selling to high end stores. If we want good conditions for workers, we will have to pay more for our food. It’s the same thing as cheap clothing.

I understood that in Spain a lot of crops are watered with ‘sewerage’? For that reason as well as being handled by who knows I always wash fruit and vegetables wherever they are from. Even some home grown produce needs a good wash with mice, flies, birds, and in my case rabbits, after it.

It would have been much better if at the start (March) the owners had started advertising for local pickers who don’t have to be put up in mobile homes to ease the crowding factor.

It would seem that they are paid reasonably well ( unlike the Leicester garment factory cases) but that too many are living closely together.OK in normal times perhaps but not during the pandemic, so the owners of the farm are at fault here.

The pickers on this site are living in 33 moble homes. If there are "about" 200 ..that is quite a lot per small trailer. Easier for transmission of disease. They pay £50 a week for acommodation & are paid £8:85 ph for 48 hrs & £11:06 for hours worked after that.

I've always washed fruit and veg but just in running water no soap or Milton or DH would throw a tantrum! As for jackets I've never eaten the skin even if it's probably perfectly safe but that's me.

I have washed my fruit and veg for endless years, including all my home grown. I have used this ever since it was sold, maybe 25+years
veggiwash.co.uk/product/concentrate-500ml

Why would you wash bananas surely they have the perfect overcoat which we unpeel and throw away
The thought of washing fruit and veg in chemical laden washing up liquid is not for me I certainly wash my fruit and veg but not in chemicals

If you buy unpackaged fruit and veg in a supermarket the likelihood is that if has been pawed over by other shoppers who haven't necessarily used the hand sanitizer provided - if it is. I wash apples, bananas and salad veg with washing-up liquid and give them several rinses. It has worked so far.

biba70

And yet- I bet there will be much less of an uproar about the Lincs situation, as compared to the Leicester one. Wonder why hmmm?

What are you getting at here, biba70?

I always wash my fruit and veg in salt water anyway, especially when they have been picked by hand, like strawberries.

And why less fuss?