Calls continue for Cargill beef plant closure
Source: The Western Producer
May 13, 2020 - Alberta’s NDP opposition continues to call for the closure of the Cargill meat processing plant in High River, Alta., saying it has failed to keep its workers safe from infection by COVID-19.
Labour critic Christina Gray said Cargill must close until it meets legal requirements to engage workers on safety.
She provided a copy of an Occupational Health and Safety demand report dated May 8 indicating Cargill did not “engage its own workers in an internal review of the circumstances that led to 952 cases of COVID-19 among workers at the meat processing plant.”
Two Cargill workers have died from the virus, as has a third person related to a plant worker. As of May 12, Alberta Health Services reported 25 active cases of the virus among Cargill workers at the High River, Alta., plant, and 920 have recovered.
At the JBS beef plant in Brooks, Alta., AHS reported 44 active cases among workers and 582 recovered.
Harmony Beef in Balzac, Alta., has also had an outbreak. AHS statistics there indicate 12 active cases among workers while 28 have recovered.