Workers arriving for the day shift at the Cargill meat-packing plant in High River, Alta., were met with a now-familiar sight near the front gate this week.
Labour activists were there, handing protective masks emblazoned with the words “Safety First” to any slaughterhouse worker who wanted one.
To maintain anti-virus social distancing protocols, union reps used poles to hand the masks to workers through car windows. It’s now a strange daily ritual in the topsy-turvy world of COVID-19.
In an economy devastated by the coronavirus pandemic, most workers, employers and trade unions would be celebrating a worksite that managed to stay open during the crisis.