Background information

In September 2020, the poultry processing manufacturer Pivka perutninarstvo experienced a high incidence of COVID-19 infections among their 250 employees as well as employees working for their partners. At the webinar, the Chamber of Commerce’s regional office Postojna presented the company as a good practice in mitigating the negative consequences of COVID-19. The president of the board of directors Mr. Janez Remec spoke of how they managed to halt the spread of infection and assure the continuation of production in a situation when a third of their employees test positive for COVID-19.

Content of measure

In February 2020, Pivka perutninarstvo has already established a crisis unit for monitoring the situation. Safety measures adopted at that time were the routes of movement, lunch break in turn, replacement staff, reserve locations, testing of contractual partners, ban of informal gatherings (distance markers on the floor), supervisors surveilling the compliance with safety measures. First employees were tested positive for COVID-19 in March 2020, but the prompt responses easily halted the spread of the epidemics. From this experience, the company learned the necessary precaution in a slaughterhouse where the spread of the virus is 12 times faster than in other environments.

The company experienced another breakout of the epidemic in September 2020. This time the number of employees who tested positive for COVID-19 reached as many as 74 employees. The prompt responses of management together with the collaboration of the mayor and the Civil Protection helped in curbing the spread of infection. Contrary to the official instructions, the Civil Protection organised immediate testing of all employees. Only workers tested negative for COVID-19 were allowed to work. Twelfth workers who missed testing were banned from entering the company and got a 10-day vacation.

According to the representative of the Civil Protection, the communication of breakout to the public was decisive for enabling immediate joint action. It is a model for some companies which give infected workers ten days off telling them that they must not inform the public about infection in the company.

Use of measure

After the testing, the company coped with the problem of how to continue to work with only two-thirds of workers. A big moral support came from competitive firms which offered their help and undertook some work for them. Sick workers were replaced by the management and administration workers who were assigned jobs in the production process. As a result, the production output was almost the same as in the pre-crisis period, and no workers got infected later on. All measures together helped in overcoming the crisis in a spirit of trust and solidarity.

Contents

• Health and safety

Target groups

Workers	Businesses	Citizens
Does not apply to workers	Does not apply to businesses	Does not apply to citizens

Actors and funding

Actors	Funding
Company / Companies Other social actors (e.g. NGOs) Local / regional government	Employer National funds

Social partners

Social partners' role in designing the measure and form of involvement:

	Trade unions	Employers' organisations
Role	No involvement	No involvement
Form	Not applicable	Not applicable

Social partners' role in the implementation, monitoring and assessment phase:

• No involvement
• Main level of involvement: Company level

Involvement

No involvement.

Views and reactions

No information available.

Sectors and occupations

This case is not occupation-specific.

Sources

• 06 November 2020: The Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Slovenia (GZS), Primeri dobrih praks [Cases of good practices] (www.gzs.si)