BROOKS, Alta. — The union representing 2,200 workers at the XL Foods plant in Brooks said yesterday that management refused to address food safety issues brought to its attention even before the plant was closed Sept. 26 by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.
Doug O’Halloran, president of the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 401, called for a public inquiry into the food safety system in general and the XL Foods situation in particular.
Discovery of E. coli 0157:H7 in beef from the plant has led to the largest meat recall in Canadian history and has so far sickened 12 people.
Read Also
Government to invest in biofuel production
The federal government will invest $370 million in a new biofuel production incentive.
O’Halloran suggested CFIA inspectors are intimidated by XL management. And he said the employees, many of them temporary foreign workers, are afraid to complain for fear of losing their jobs.
“Whoever works at Lakeside has a taint on them because of this,” said O’Halloran about the meat recall and food safety issue.
In a news release issued shortly after the union news conference, XL Foods said it has an open door policy for its workers and has always welcomed input.
“I am saddened that the UFCW has chosen to attack the workmanship of its many members,” said co-chief executive officer Brian Nilsson.
“We have extensive training programs for new workers and hold our workers in the highest regard for their abilities.”
Nilsson added that the plant’s line speed, criticized by the union as being too fast, is lower than the industry average for a plant of its size.
O’Halloran said he has never met Nilsson or his brother, Lee, the other co-CEO of Nilsson Brothers, who own XL Foods.
However, he did praise the company for paying its workers for a 32-hour work week even though the plant remained closed pending changes mandated by the CFIA.
“They got that right. They’ve got everything else wrong,” he said.
The union provided XL with a list of concerns about plant safety earlier this week but has not received a response, he added.
The concerns range from line speed to sewage backups on the processing floor, inconsistent temperatures and high employee turnover that affects training levels.
Gil McGowan, president of the Alberta Federation of Labour, said XL Foods puts quantity ahead of quality, to the peril of consumers.
“Pardon the pun, but we feel very strongly that our provincial government, our federal government can’t stand idly by while a bunch of cowboys put the bottom line ahead of public safety,” McGowan said.
He added that the federal food safety system is letting Canadians down and government moves toward greater self-regulation within the food industry are a mistake.
“Our governments need to corral these cowboys and restore confidence in our beef industry by demanding real regulation as opposed to self regulation.”
Alberta NDP leader Brian Mason also criticized the government response to the beef recall.
He said premier Alison Redford was acting as a cheerleader for the beef industry rather than insisting that the federal government do more to ensure food safety.
