Food workers organise for health and safety

Food workers in north London have decided that union organisation is the best way to ensure their health and safety.

Workers at Katsouris Fresh Foods produce ready-made snacks and dips for retailers Tesco, Marks and Spencer, Sainsbury and Waitrose.

Three or four accidents a day are common at Katsouris’s three sites, according to the GMB general union, and vary from cuts and bruises to broken limbs and back injuries. Freezing cold temperatures, manual handling and slip hazards are also major issues for the workers.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has served five improvement notices on Katsouris, but to little effect. However, workers have joined the GMB general union and are now in the final stages of negotiating a recognition agreement with the company.