Tönnies scandal: What is Swiss meat companies to make better?

has Now become well known in Switzerland, a first case where employees of a slaughterhouse with the new Coronavirus have been infected. To a slaughterhouse in the Emmental, 16 persons were tested in may a positive effect on Covid-19. This is, of course, no comparison to the Numbers in Germany in the headlines: Alone in the meat factory Tönnies in the district of Gütersloh in more than 1500 Workers were infected. Why is the Swiss meat industry-so far, so lightly through the Corona-crisis? The starting point is similar to that in Germany: Because of the hard physical work in refrigerated warehouses hardly Locals to find work in the almost 700 Swiss slaughterhouses, many of the Eastern Europeans. And these are often recruited through subcontractors, such as, for example, the Top chord H. Heinen AG, a mediator of skilled workers for the meat industry in the Canton of Lucerne.

John knight

a correspondent for politics and business in Switzerland.

the Emmental operation of the Ernst Sutter AG, in which the 16 employees (out of a total of 210) infected, working together with the Top chord. "One of the main differences to Germany is probably in the fact that our meat companies to bring their employees in collective accommodation under," says Ruedi Hadorn, the Director of the Swiss meat Association, SFF. The foreign workers would have to take care of yourself, responsible to your Stay so that you have outside of work is less close contact to the colleagues.

Particularly attractive to skilled workers from low-wage countries

In the factories self-enforced strict hygiene rules, which were tightened after the outbreak of the pandemic significantly. In addition to distance rules, as well as protective masks and goggles, separating count visors the end of the plexiglass, Face and around tents and enlarged rest rooms to the instruments in the fight against infectious. The risk of a large outbreak, however, is reduced by the fact that Swiss farms are substantially smaller than in Germany. "The quantities processed by Tönnies, within one day, create our largest Slaughterhouses, not once in a week," says Hadorn.