Fresh Produce Alliance says there’s a “significant risk” of more empty supermarket shelves unless staff shortages are addressed.Fresh Produce Alliance says there’s a “significant risk” of more empty supermarket shelves unless staff shortages are addressed.Australians may be unable to buy fresh produce at supermarkets while fruit and vegetables are left to rot on farms unless staff shortages caused by the coronavirus pandemic are fixed, the industry’s peak body has warned.
Exploding coronavirus numbers, which reached close to 80,000 on Friday, due to the highly infectious Omicron variant and the opening up of the economy, have kept people away from work as they either await a hard-to-find test, isolate because they have been a close contact or are sick. “We don’t want to get to a stage where we’re destroying food in a farm, at a paddock, because we can’t get it to the supermarket and Australians go to the supermarket and there’s not food on shelves.”
Small business and unions have repeatedly called for rapid antigen tests to be made free for small and medium-sized companies – something Rogers said was “on the table” but stopped short of endorsing. Innes Willox, the chief executive of the Australian Industry Group, also said people should be allowed to return to work immediately after getting a negative Covid test.
if you thought that easing restrictions was going to HELP domestic business, as an American I have some bad news for you
You know what they say… When life gives you bags of lemons…
Fear porn. Now watch the less intelligent panic buy everything again.
I’m sympathetic to free testing for critical industries. But I’m NOT in favour of reducing isolation times. Even with the risk to supply chains, isolation is about incubation periods. Reduce the isolation periods and you risk MORE exposures in the community.
Australians *are* facing fresh food shortages *because* COVID restrictions were eased.
I doubt Covid infected food is fresh.
Trial run for when climate change bites a bit harder.
seekingnatureau We need to slow the spread of virus and protect the functioning of our hospital system. These are the priorities there is no solution that comes without a cost. Our leadership needs to be honest and tell us that. COVID19Aus
Ridiculous. Fix the health issue first. Don't change the WHS rules otherwise this will cycle continuously.
A shortage of rock hard under ripe fruit and veg will be devastating!
Guardian still licking that boot.
Ah good. Change WH&S laws so the sick food chain workers can produce & deliver to the sick supermarket workers & sell to the sick public. Another brilliant Wuhan wet market of an idea from the Australian Industry Group
Mate, I don’t drive a truck
and then the industry will whinge because no one is shopping anymore, all sick at home or in hospital
This is what the 'let it rip,user pays' looks like. Aussie business has been pleading for 'living to covid' for a long time. Now that reality is here and now, still whinging because its not going to plan.
Lobby group who constantly called for restrictions to be eased now surprised by the logical consequences of easing restrictions. After careful consideration, they now call for ... restrictions to be eased.
It’s only a shame that business didn’t think through what “living with covid” would look like when they screamed incessantly to end public health measures. They got their way and now it’s biting them in the bum.
So, the plan is to weaken OH&S rules? Fuck that
Empty shelves are the result of 'socialism' from left-wing governments the rightwingers tell us! Go on LiberalAus voters, explain this away. Neither the AustralianLabor party is in govt. nor is Australia a socialist country and yet....?