On a normal day, there would be a steady stream of workers coming and going at the Greencore factory in Northampton that makes sandwiches for Marks and Spencer. But last Friday, the workplace announced it would close that afternoon and employees were told to stay in self-isolation for 14 days due to an outbreak of Covid-19. A week earlier it was confirmed that almost 300 members of staff had tested positive for the virus. Since then, there has been a feeling among many of the workers that they are being blamed for the outbreak.
The Director of Public Health at Northamptonshire County Council, Lucy Wightman, said that the outbreak was "about how people behave outside of Greencore, not at work" and that the company "continue to work extremely hard to exceed the requirements needed to be COVID-19 secure within the workplace". For those who had been risking their health to turn up for work every day, this felt like a kick in the teeth.
"Many workers were very angry about this," one employee told Open Democracy. "It was like she had decided to side with Greencore. In my opinion, the company was far too slow to act. People were terrified every time they turned up for work."
