Company fails to reply in a week to Unite request for 100 percent paid leave for those unable to workSean McKeever, Unite Regional Officer blasted the management of Moy Park for their callous refusal to extend financial protections to vulnerable and self-isolating employees.
“Moy Park bosses have once again confirmed their callous disregard for the well-being of their workers. Unite approached the company to request that those having to shield themselves due to underlying health issues, those self-isolating with Covid-19 symptoms and other vulnerable workers should receive full pay for the duration of their absence. We gave management a week to respond but at the end of that period we have received absolutely no response to our request whatsoever.
“The UK government has provided 80 percent compensation for the costs of leave to employers, while sales revenues for foodstuffs are very sharply up – it is surely not too much to ask that workers who are self-isolating and those shielding due to their vulnerable status would not also have to face a financial crisis in this worrying time.
“Other bosses in the food production and retail sector, such as Sainsbury’s, have extended similar guarantees to their vulnerable workers but for Moy Park the only priority that matters is maximising profit so that shareholders accumulate even more wealth and capital. This is about naked corporate greed.
“Food production workers are heroically risking themselves to safeguard the supplies that everyone in society needs. In the last week these workers have demonstrated that they are not willing to become the collateral damage in a deadly cocktail of the abject failure of Stormont Ministers to enforce infection control measures and unbridled corporate greed. This refusal by Moy Park bosses is already causing deep resentment among workers, indeed those I’ve spoken to are revulsed by the approach of management”, Mr McKeever concluded.
Unite the Union, Ireland Region 
Typical of Moy Park the fat cats which they are, profit is all they care about, they don’t give a toss about their workers and they are showing there colours now shame on you, so do the decent thing it’s not costing you very much
i went to collect my son on monday and i couldnt believe my eyes.no distancing among the workers whatsorvever .they were coming out of work in crowds,all in a big line waiting on buses.these people are walking out of their work because of no distancing in work.THEY NEED TO PRACTICE THIS THEMSELVES.ny son has as good as quit moy park in dungannon after mondays scenes.he is a member of unite and i shall get him to contact you concerning this.
I work at Moy Park Ballymena. The company does not comply with any safety rules. There have been no hand sanitizers for 2 days. There is no distance for employees on the links. There are no face masks. No one is interested in the safety of the people working there. only profits matter. As a reward for work, we received a letter from the company that they are in a difficult situation and will not give people more money for 2 years. Shame!