Covid-19: Burberry warehouse workers say they felt unsafe

Bloomberg

The luxury brand Burberry is famed for plaid scarves and $1,800 trench coats. But for employees at its only warehouse in the US — operating as an “essential business” during the pandemic — daily standard issue in the time of Covid-19 is this: one surgical mask, one disinfectant wipe.
For weeks, employees have been growing increasingly anxious about working conditions at the New Jersey facility, the British company’s gateway to the US market.
This past weekend, they found out that a total of three workers had tested positive for the virus, according to a memo sent to employees and viewed by Bloomberg News. The facility will be shut indefinitely.
The 300 employees at the warehouse in Vineland are among the many thousands of mostly low-paid workers across the economy keeping retailers afloat. While steps taken to contain the coronavirus have resulted in shuttered shops nationwide, warehouse workers continue to fill online orders. Concerns about their safety persist. Employees at retailers that stock general goods such as Amazon.com Inc and Walmart Inc have become sick even as other businesses, deemed non-essential, remain closed.
Several Burberry warehouse workers said they felt unsafe at work. They said social distancing was difficult to practice and that equipment was shared.
A Burberry spokesperson said the New Jersey location had reduced capacity by splitting the workforce into separate shifts, each fewer than 50 employees, down from between 150 and 300.
The company said it provided hand sanitiser, wipes and surgical masks. Workers continue to receive full wages.
“Throughout, we have closely followed government and health authority guidelines and put in place measures aligned with these that are designed to help prevent the spread of the virus and ensure everyone’s safety and well-being,” the company said in a statement.
“We have a confidential hotline for employees to share any concerns they may have. If anyone is uncomfortable for any reason, we are allowing them to stay home on full pay until further notice.”
Workers said the company began taking their temperatures when they arrived for their shifts last week, nearly two months after the pandemic struck New Jersey. But the procedure was stopped several days later due to a faulty thermometer, the workers said.
“We are currently exploring having a third-party on site to provide temperature checks when we eventually reopen,” the company said.
Unlike most retailers, Burberry has not placed employees on furlough and continues to issue paychecks to its 10,000 workers in the US and abroad. Executives took a 20% pay cut into June and the company has said it won’t accept government money to pay staff.
Burberry warehouse employees said that after the first employee contracted the virus, the company distributed a memo. However, rumours persisted about the illness of two additional employees.