Company Invokes Force Majeure to Deny Its Responsibility to Workers
Olymel Must Be Held to Account!
- Peggy Morton -
February 18, 2021. UFCW members outside Olymel plant in Red Deer to ensure the plant
shuts down.
The workers at the Olymel pork processing plant
in Red Deer
Alberta finally succeeded in shutting the plant down to bring the
spread of COVID-19 under control. As of February
19, 426 cases of
COVID-19 had been recorded due to the
one outbreak,
with 212 active cases and one worker dead. The workers forced the
company to close the plant
in the face of its
refusal to take responsible action. On February 17, 12 days after
the workers
responded to a survey by their union overwhelmingly calling for a
temporary closure, the
company shut down by
shamelessly declaring force majeure so as not to pay compensation.
Workers have been issued
layoff notices.
Claiming that the plant closure is due to "unforeseen circumstances" beyond its control (force majeure),
and that therefore it does not have to abide by the provisions of the
collective agreement regarding layoffs, the company is offering pay
advances which the workers would have to repay, and assistance in
helping workers access
federal programs. United Food and Commercial Workers Local 401 reports
that it is exploring legal options to ensure the workers are fully
compensated. President Thomas Hesse says the layoff contravenes the
collective agreement and may also violate Alberta employment standards.
 According
to Alberta Health Services, more than 60 per cent of the workers at
Olymel have at least one other job which is one indication of how
oppressive the conditions are at that plant. Clearly, workers who are
positive or self-isolating will lose that income as well, along with
the income of other family members who will also have to
self-isolate. Furthermore, many of the workers are immigrants who not
only support themselves and their families here in Canada, but families
in their home country who depend on the remittances they send.
"We continue to believe that it is the company's responsibility to
support and provide compensation for their employees during this
necessary pause in production because it is due to failures on the
company's part that the workplace needed to close," Hesse said in a
statement.
Companies like Olymel assert their "monopoly right" to control
decision-making on health and safety matters and fight tooth and nail
to prevent the workers from exercising their rights to decide what
constitutes a safe and healthy working environment. They refuse to even
acknowledge that it is the workers who actually know where the
problems lie and what measures are needed to make their workplaces
safe. When their narrow drive for maximum profit leads to disaster,
they cry that they are not responsible, it is beyond their control, an
"act of God" and so on.
Workers and their union have pointed to many factors which were
certainly under Olymel's control. For example, Olymel failed to reduce
line speeds to a safe level, and to provide safe places for the workers
to take their breaks and eat lunch. The company ramped up production
and hired several hundred new workers leading to even more
crowded conditions.
It is absurd to suggest that a major outbreak of COVID-19 was
unforeseen. Meat processing plants all over North America and the world
have been particularly hard-hit by COVID-19. Alberta alone now has
outbreaks in eight meat packing plants. The government must be held to
account for permitting the corporations to act with impunity
which is what the workers and their union are doing by fighting for
full compensation.
This article was published in
February 24, 2021 - No. 10
Article Link:
https://cpcml.ca/WF2021/Articles/WO08101.HTM
Website: www.cpcml.ca
Email: editor@cpcml.ca
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