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Protests over exemption of food workers and distributors from lockdowns
来源： 编辑：编辑部 发布：2020/04/09 09:41:48
LOCAL authorities and unions are opposing the decision by federal governments to exempt food makers and distributors from lockdowns.
Mayors in South America have halted some aspects of agricultural production. Unions have threatened to strike over safety concerns and some poultry workers in the US walked off the job.
The resistance along the supply chain underscores the balancing act needed to contain the coronavirus and protect workers deemed essential while delivering goods and services. It's an especially acute issue given that transportation, labour and other logistical woes have already made it hard to get food where it needs to be in the pandemic era, reports Bloomberg.
In Brazil, a union nearly succeeded in shutting down two JBS SA chicken facilities by convincing a judge that the health risks were too great. In the US, chicken giant Perdue Farms is trying to appease workers after two dozen employees at a 600-person plant in Kathleen, Georgia, staged a walkout. The first meat processing employee to test positive for coronavirus in the US also materialised at a Sanderson Farms Inc plant.
While none of the meat plant incidents have so far caused operational disruptions, there are concerns that more may be coming, causing supply chain hiccups right as consumers are binge-buying groceries to fuel shelter-in-place lockdowns.
The US pork industry has requested more guest worker visas, and there's speculation that plants have been running full tilt not only to supply unprecedented retail food demand, but also to get as much production in as possible before virus-related disruptions slow the pace.
Some mayors in key Brazilian agricultural areas are halting transportation to contain the virus. In neighbouring Argentina, trucks were blocked from a key section of the Parana River grain hub by a local mayor. Unions in both South American countries are also seeking assurances that exempt industries and workers are safe.
While a Colombian presidential decree states that people involved in agricultural supply chains have free mobility, some mayors are contravening that, said Manuel Rueda, general manager of Integra Trading SAS.
Mayors in South America have halted some aspects of agricultural production. Unions have threatened to strike over safety concerns and some poultry workers in the US walked off the job.
The resistance along the supply chain underscores the balancing act needed to contain the coronavirus and protect workers deemed essential while delivering goods and services. It's an especially acute issue given that transportation, labour and other logistical woes have already made it hard to get food where it needs to be in the pandemic era, reports Bloomberg.
In Brazil, a union nearly succeeded in shutting down two JBS SA chicken facilities by convincing a judge that the health risks were too great. In the US, chicken giant Perdue Farms is trying to appease workers after two dozen employees at a 600-person plant in Kathleen, Georgia, staged a walkout. The first meat processing employee to test positive for coronavirus in the US also materialised at a Sanderson Farms Inc plant.
While none of the meat plant incidents have so far caused operational disruptions, there are concerns that more may be coming, causing supply chain hiccups right as consumers are binge-buying groceries to fuel shelter-in-place lockdowns.
The US pork industry has requested more guest worker visas, and there's speculation that plants have been running full tilt not only to supply unprecedented retail food demand, but also to get as much production in as possible before virus-related disruptions slow the pace.
Some mayors in key Brazilian agricultural areas are halting transportation to contain the virus. In neighbouring Argentina, trucks were blocked from a key section of the Parana River grain hub by a local mayor. Unions in both South American countries are also seeking assurances that exempt industries and workers are safe.
While a Colombian presidential decree states that people involved in agricultural supply chains have free mobility, some mayors are contravening that, said Manuel Rueda, general manager of Integra Trading SAS.