BOSSES at a Rosyth fish factory say they're doing everything possible to protect workers from coronavirus.

Concerns about social distancing and cross-contamination were raised by one member of staff at the processing plant run by Mowi – formerly Marine Harvest – which employs more than 500 people at Admiralty Park.

With food production designated an essential service by the government, the company has kept working to ensure the supply to shops and supermarkets is maintained.

However, one employee, who asked to remain anonymous, claimed: "Ever since the outbreak of coronavirus, the company has said it's put the right procedures in place but the fact is, half of the factory still car-share to work with some people taking six people in a car, and all from different departments.

"There are sometimes up to five people gathered on a line and they are still taking new-starts to cover the number of people off self-isolating.

"And everyone still uses the same keypad to clock in and the same fingerprint reader to get into the factory, right there in itself is the biggest risk of spreading the virus."

Joanna Peeling, head of HR for Mowi Scotland, said: "We understand this is a stressful time for our large workforce, and we take our obligations, both as an employer and as a supplier of food, very seriously.

"In line with government guidance, we have taken specific actions to ensure we protect designated key workers and the UK’s food supply.

"At our processing facility in Rosyth, we’ve reduced the number of people coming to the site, only carrying out essential activity here.

"Those who don’t need to be at site are at home and we are only allowing contractors in where it is essential for safety or to keep production going.

"In addition to already strict food hygiene requirements, we’ve provided extra sanitisation points so workers can clean their hands both before and after touching surfaces in areas of risk, such as door handles and fingerprint scanners and have instigated an additional regular cleaning programme for these risk areas.

"We must continue to use the fingerprint scanners as they are essential for worker safety/rescue in the event of a fire.

"We’ve made adjustments both in and out of the production areas to create social distancing: marked floors where people may congregate with two-metre identifiers; shift changes to allow one shift to clear the site before the other comes in; staggered break times to create space in social areas; additional PPE for certain roles; moved equipment to reduce crowding; removed people from lines where possible; and put clear plastic screens between people in certain roles."

And she concluded: "While our company cannot control social distancing measures outside the workplace, we have made it clear in writing to all staff that they shouldn’t be car-sharing with people from outside their household and have asked that if this prevents an employee getting to work, to let us know so we can offer them support."

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