REGIONAL meat packing facilities with less than 25 staff will be able to remain open, as those in metropolitan Victoria reduce their capacity to comply with new coronavirus restrictions.
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On Monday, the Victorian government announced it would introduce measures making it mandatory for meat processors to reduce their workforce by a third, in light of COVID-19 clusters at meatworks in Melbourne during the first wave of the pandemic in Victoria.
Premier Daniel Andrews said on Thursday processers in all parts of the state with less than 25 employees had been granted exemptions to this ruling.
Ms Kealy said in a statement allowing small processors to remain open would protect jobs and ensure food supply chains would not be compromised.
"To force abattoirs with only a handful of staff to decrease their workforce by a third would have forced some of them into closure, and the consequences for those businesses and their workers -plus the flow-on effects for the community - would have been awful," she said.
There are several abattoirs in the Grampians and Wimmera region, including Ararat Meat Exports and Stawell's Frew group.
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Alexander Darling
Alexander has been a member of the Wimmera Mail-Times' editorial team since December 2018, covering politics, business and property among other rounds. He is a passionate St.Kilda and rock and roll fan, and has previously worked as a radio reporter in Port Macquarie and Gosford, NSW.
Alexander has been a member of the Wimmera Mail-Times' editorial team since December 2018, covering politics, business and property among other rounds. He is a passionate St.Kilda and rock and roll fan, and has previously worked as a radio reporter in Port Macquarie and Gosford, NSW.
