Image Upload


File size must be less than 2Mb

You must have online publishing permission or full ownership of this image

File types (jpg, png, gif)






  • Hero image
    Member for Lowan Emma Kealy

Win for small regional abattoirs

Meat processors with a staff of less than 25 will be exempt from the State Government’s two-thirds staffing rule.

Member for Lowan Emma Kealy said the exemption represented a win for small regional businesses.

Earlier this week, the government announced it would introduce measures making it mandatory for meat processors to reduce their workforce by a third.

This was due to COVID-19 clusters at meatworks in Melbourne during the first wave of the pandemic in Victoria.



Article continues below



However Ms Kealy immediately urged the government to rethink its ruling, which she feared would have crippled regional operations with few staff, and implement an exemption for small businesses.

She said the exemption announced today would allow small processors to remain open, keeping people employed and avoiding a compromise of food supply.

“To make abattoirs with only a handful of staff to decrease their workforce by a third would have forced some of them into closure. The consequences for those businesses and their workers – plus the flow-on effects for the community – would have been awful,” she said.

 “The one-size-fits-all approach to this industry was never going to be practical for businesses in our region.

 “The decision to exempt meat processors with less than 25 staff from having to cut their workforces is a rational move that will ensure these businesses can continue to employ a full workforce and maintain their vital link in our community’s food supply chain.”