Packaging industry demands ‘essential work’ status from UK Government

Amid the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak, many countries have advised people to stay home unless their work is essential.
Should those in the packaging industry be classed as essential? In the UK, the government has released guidelines to only go outside for food, health reasons and work that cannot be done from home.
Jessica Paige, Packaging Writer at GlobalData says: “Many of those working in the packaging industry have been arguing for packaging-related employees to also be defined as key workers.
“Last week, the British Plastic Federation (BPF) urged the UK Government to classify plastic sector workers as essential, as the need for plastic packaging has become a matter of health and safety during this pandemic.
“UK-based packaging solutions provider Parkside global sales director Paula Birch told GlobalData that packaging is essential in today’s environment and that, therefore, those working in the packaging industry are essential too.”
Birch said: “Without packaging, the entire food industry will collapse. How do you supply soup or fresh bread without some sort of container? Packaging is there to protect, present, and preserve the health and safety of consumers.
“Without packaging, food waste, in particular, would escalate to catastrophic levels. It’s essential and critical in these challenging times.”
Paige adds: “However, last week, employees of packaging company WestRock at its East Kilbride plant told Scottish tabloid Daily Record that they are being asked to risk their lives for their work.
“According to the tabloid, an anonymous worker there said: ‘We’re scared for our health. We certainly don’t get paid to be essential workers, and all the managers are at home isolating.
‘It’s the workers that are in. We’re being asked to risk our lives for a cardboard box.’
“American corrugated packaging company WestRock has not yet responded to these claims and has not posted a statement regarding the Covid-19 coronavirus outbreak.
“Other packaging companies like Amcor, Mondi, and UPM are continuing to operate.”