Figures released to TD Louise O’Reilly by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment show that nearly half of all inspections of meat processing plants from 2015 to 2020 “uncovered breaches of employment law and workers’ rights”.
Speaking at the meeting of the Joint Committee on Enterprise, Trade and Employment yesterday (Tuesday, March 9) deputy O’Reilly, the Sinn Féin spokesperson on workers’ rights, said that data provided to her by the department showed that 46% of inspections detected these breaches “to some extent”.
‘Shocking, but not surprising’
“Regarding initiatives undertaken in respect of the meat processing sector, the department stated that the Workplace Relations Commission [WRC] had been active in the sector for a number of years carrying out inspections,” the deputy said.
Speaking after the committee meeting, the deputy described the figures as “shocking, but not surprising”.
“However, it underlines the need to get serious about cracking down on the light-touch regulation,” she said.
“I shudder to think what the workers in this sector endure when the inspectors leave and the spotlight shines elsewhere.”
‘Hands-off approach’
Sinn Féin spokesperson on agriculture Matt Carthy said that “this hands-off approach seems to permeate every aspect of government engagement with the meat processing sector”.
“The government has rejected calls from the National Outbreak Control Team to empower itself to shut down meat plants for deep cleaning when an outbreak arises,” he said.
“They have rejected calls for consistent rigorous scientific investigations into outbreaks. Perhaps, most bizarrely of all, it gave a €100 million no-strings attached cheque to the sector at a time when farmers are crying out for support.”