US meatpacking workers hesitant to return to work despite executive order

Source and photo credit: Global Ag Media/The Pig Site

16 June 2020US meatpacking unions report that scores of employees remain off the job due to either quarantine or fears of contracting COVID-19, despite an order from President Trump mandating their return to work.

Reuters reports that Smithfield Foods Inc is missing nearly one third of its employees at a South Dakota pork plant because they are quarantined or afraid to return to work after a severe coronavirus outbreak. Tyson Foods Inc was forced to briefly close a different plant in Iowa one month after President Trump issued the 28 April executive order telling meatpackers to stay open. Reuters reports that worker absences hindered slaughter operations.
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The South African Pork Producers’ Organisation (SAPPO) coordinates industry interventions and collaboratively manages risks in the value chain to enable the sustainability and profitability of pork producers in South Africa.