It is concerning to note the reports of clusters of coronavirus cases across some meat plants in NI, and that a woman who worked in Moy Park has died after contracting the virus. Our condolences to her family and friends.

To be fair to the processors they have, in many cases, spent six figure sums putting in place the infrastructure required to meet social distancing rules, and drawn up protocols that will set the standard for other manufacturing businesses as they return to work.

Our factories are also heavily reliant on migrant labour

But one thing that cannot change is that a food processing factory is often a cold environment to work in, and in meat processing in particular, it is labour-intensive. Our factories are also heavily reliant on migrant labour, and inevitably these workers often live and travel together, which further increases the risk of a cluster developing.

In British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s address last Sunday night, he rightly praised the bravery of frontline NHS and care workers

But perhaps what has been really striking throughout this whole pandemic is the lack of appreciation among wider society for those who do these jobs. If they didn’t go to work, what would we all eat, and aside from that basic fundamental, if a factory closed for a couple of weeks it would have a devastating impact on many farm businesses.

In British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s address last Sunday night, he rightly praised the bravery of frontline NHS and care workers. He then went on to mention police, bus drivers, supermarket workers, road hauliers, bin collectors, security guards, postal workers and teachers.

Their contribution has been quietly immense

Granted, all these people deserve praise, but so do those who have continued to walk into food processing businesses throughout this crisis, especially when they saw friends and neighbours on furlough or able to work from home. In fact, they should be towards the top of any appreciation list. Their contribution has been quietly immense, and as farmers, we should be among the first to recognise that.

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