Premier’s Cape Town Bakery has 40 positive COVID-19 cases
Premier’s Cape Town Bakery situated in Salt River, has 40 positive COVID-19 cases since the start of the lockdown on 27 March 2020.
Premier’s Cape Town Bakery situated in Salt River, has 40 positive COVID-19 cases since the start of the lockdown on 27 March 2020.
Since lockdown commenced, a total of 492 employees have been placed in self-isolation because of the extensive screening process undertaken by professional nurses at the entrance gate and via track and trace self-isolation policy. A total of 392 employees have been sent for testing with a doctor’s reference to ensure quick access to the laboratories. No new positive results were received in the past 24 hours and 44 negative results were received.
Premier initiated a COVID-19 crisis planning committee on 11 March 2020 with the objective of providing a safe working environment for our employees. By the time President Ramaphosa briefed the nation on Thursday 20th March about the epidemic and the pending lockdown, Premier had updated our SOP’s and improved employee and environmental sanitisation at all our operations.
These protocols have been inspected by the Department of Labour (DOL) and are in adherence with the Department of Health (DOH) and National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD) guidelines. The DOH and DOL have inspected the plant and found Premier to be fully compliant with the required protocols for a manufacturing site.
– A total of 478 employees have been placed in self-isolation because of the screening process.
– A total of 375 employees have been sent for COVID-19 testing with a doctor’s reference to ensure quick access to the testing site.
– 40 people have been tested positive. These were either identified via the gate screening checks where employees that exhibit more 1 or more symptoms is sent for testing, or via the track & trace protocol where employees are placed in self-isolation for 7 days and then tested on the 8th day
– All employees pass through an extensive screening process carried out by professional nursing staff before gaining access to the site. This has contributed to no on-site infections so far.
– All employees pass through a screening process, including walking through a sanitising mist tunnel, before entering the plant, have access to sanitisers throughout the site, wear masks always, and adhere to social distancing.
– The plant is shut down every 7 days for a deep cleaning and sanitation process. This has contributed to some short supply of bread in recent weeks.
– A continuous cleaning process takes place on the site throughout the shift to ensure all surfaces are sanitised.
– Our manufacturing processes are fully automated until the product is packed – from mixing, to baking, to slicing, to bagging and packing into crates / cartons. This ensures a hygienic and quality product is ready for sale to our loyal consumers.
– Extensive employee communication takes place to increase awareness of COVID-19 and hygiene & sanitisation measures to follow.
– Each employee has been given 5 washable face masks, a hand sanitiser that can be refilled on site when required and an informational leaflet to take home with them.
– Extensive print, electronic and on-site communication and education takes place daily.
– Dedicated transport is provided for employees who always wear face masks. The vehicles are sanitised after each trip, and hand sanitiser is available on the transport for the driver and passengers.
– Over the weekend we implemented a 24-hour call centre to contact each employee before transport picks them up. If they exhibit 1 or more symptoms in the self-check, a separate vehicle will collect them for medical screening – this ensures that we do not place other employees in the transport at potential risk.
“Our employees are at the heart of our business and their safety, the safety of their families and communities, remains our number 1 priority. We will continue to ensure that our workplace remains a safe and hygienic place of work.”
“Premier’s procedures to protect our employees and ensure business continuity in light of the COVID-19 epidemic are well developed and executed throughout our operations. We are continuously reviewing and updating these plans to ensure that we have the best protocols in place to provide a safe and secure environment for our employees. We comply with the requirements of the DOL, DOH and NICD.”
“Our manufacturing processes are fully automated until the product is packed – from mixing, to baking, to slicing, to bagging and packing into crates / cartons. This includes the cleaning of all delivery vehicles and sanitary protocols are in place for drivers delivering products to stores.”
“It is critical to note that as an employer we can put in all these precautionary measures in place but if the employee does not take personal responsibility by declaring symptoms as soon as they appear, we cannot isolate them and send them for testing. It is as much an employee and employer responsibility in limiting the spread of this pandemic in the workplace.”
About Premier
Gauteng-based Premier FMCG (Pty) Limited was founded nearly 200 years ago. Premier FMCG strategically repositioned itself in 2012 as a leading FMCG player by expanding from traditional milling and baking into confectionary, home & personal care brands. Premier has operations and distribution facilities throughout South Africa, Lesotho, Eswatini and Mozambique; a home & personal care business in the United Kingdom; and exports into markets within the broader SADC region, Middle East, China, Ireland and other EU markets.
Today, Premier produces and markets iconic South African brands such as Snowflake, Blue Ribbon, BB Bakeries, Star, Mister Bread, Iwisa, Nyala, Super Sun, Invicta, Manhattan, Super C, Lil-lets, Vulco & Dove cotton wool; as well as leading brands in Mozambique which include CIM, Florbela, Favorito, Polana, Top Score & Celeste; and in Eswatini which include SUB, Iwisa, Bakers Pride, Ligugu, Mandla Mahewu and Iwisa Eswatini.
In line with its vision of “Growing Together”, Premier operates 13 bakeries, 3 maize mills, 7 wheat mills, as well as a biscuit plant, pasta plant, sugar confectionery plant and a tampon & pad manufacturing plant servicing the market via 19 distribution depots throughout South Africa, Eswatini, Lesotho and Mozambique. The group has an annual turnover of R10 billion and employs more than 7 000 people under stewardship of CEO Tjaart Kruger.
