Face coverings protect workers and give the public greater confidence to shop, Matt Hancock has said. The health secretary confirmed in a statement to the House of Commons that shoppers would be required to wear masks while in shops and supermarkets. Those who do not will face fines of up to £100
As Covid-19 causes workforce shortages, UN urged to urgently investigate worsening conditions in Spain’s strawberry industry
Women picking strawberries in Spain for UK supermarkets are facing new forms of exploitation, unions and lawyers warn, as the industry is hit by labour shortages caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
This week a coalition of rights groups and lawyers have appealed to the United Nations to urgently investigate allegations of deteriorating working conditions and a lack of protection for workers against Covid-19 infection.
Continue reading...Workers in lockdown trapped in dire conditions on fruit and salad farms that supply UK supermarkets, UN warns
Migrant workers on Spanish farms that provide fruit and vegetables for UK supermarkets are trapped in dire conditions under lockdown, living in cardboard and plastic shelters without food or running water.
Thousands of workers, many of them undocumented, live in settlements between huge greenhouses on farms in the southern Spanish provinces of Huelva and Almeria, key regions for European supply chains.
Continue reading...Alan Jope predicts continued growth in online shopping and continued higher sales of cleaning products
The coronavirus pandemic will trigger “lasting changes” in shopping behaviour, according to one of the world’s biggest manufacturers of grocery brands.
Unilever’s chief executive, Alan Jope, said the health crisis would accelerate the growth of online food shopping. He also predicted a permanent increase in demand for soap and other cleaning supplies as improved hygiene became a priority for households.
Continue reading...Social media posts have shown lines stretching hundreds of meters as Coles, Woolworths and IGA enforce physical distancing
Long lines have formed outside supermarkets after Coles, Woolworths and IGA began limiting the number of customers inside stores in a bid to allow physical distancing and keep flattening the curve of Covid-19 infections during the Easter rush.
The Thursday before Easter is traditionally one of the busiest days for supermarkets, as people stock up for the weekend.
Continue reading...For Corinne Fowler, the clapping event transcended the bitter rows of the last few years, but also caused a pang of sorrow
The mass clapping event (Millions of Britons clap for carers on coronavirus frontline, 26 March) was bittersweet and loaded with irony. It was an unprecedented show of collective gratitude, inspired by a Dutch woman living in the UK, by a nation whose Brexit vote caused a shortage of medical staff as it sent EU citizens away. A clapping nation whose government created a “hostile environment” to banish the Windrush generation, who made vital contributions to the NHS.
I also thought of supermarket workers on low wages now risking life and limb, generally with no gloves or masks. There is little consideration for their safety. If it weren’t for them we would not be eating.
Continue reading...Empty shelves and complaints of inconsiderate stockpiling as public prepares for self-isolation amid coronavirus crisis
• Coronavirus – latest updates
• See all our coronavirus coverage
Panic buying continued to sweep parts of the country over the weekend, with many shoppers buying many everyday essentials in excess as they prepared for periods of isolation during the coronavirus crisis.
Despite the highly unusual move of all major operators signing up to a letter urging customers to shop responsibly and ensure supplies are shared out fairly, some customers continued to stockpile.
Continue reading...Supermarket halts production in China after six-year-old girl finds plea for help inside card
Tesco says it has suspended production at a factory in China alleged to have forced foreign prisoners to help make charity Christmas cards and also withdrawn them from sale.
The allegations came to light after the Sunday Times reported that Florence Widdicombe, aged six, from Tooting, south London, opened a box of charity Christmas cards from the supermarket and discovered a plea for help inside one of them.
Continue reading...Cäcilie Albrecht excludes late son’s wife and children from future roles in the company
The late wife of one of the founders of the discount supermarket chain Aldi has plunged the family into a bitter row after declaring in her will that her grandchildren and their mother are excluded from future business decisions.
Cäcilie Albrecht, known as the grande dame of the Aldi clan, vented her anger towards the five offspring of her late son, as well as his widow, Babette, accusing them of lavish spending not in keeping with the firm’s frugal philosophy, and of siphoning millions from company funds to finance their luxury lifestyles.
Continue reading...