Eight workers fired from Omega Proteins in Penrith

Employed by Omega Proteins, a factory in Penrith, the workers claimed they experienced 'dangerous' work conditions processing animal carcasses and that a workplace accident saw someone hospitalised.

They say they were fired after 20 days of work and had to leave their accommodation after their jobs were terminated.

They have a month to find a new job sponsor to avoid deportation.

However, the company that owns Omega Proteins said the men were 'fully inducted' and that they 'refused' to return to work after meeting with HR.

Pradeep Prasanth, one of the eight, said he and the workers came to the UK for a better life and sought job sponsorship from hiring consultancy ReadyJob, which arranged for them to work at Omega Proteins.

He said: “On the first day of work one guy from India who was working there got injured by accidentally stepping into a pot of boiling oil.

“For 20 minutes he was shouting in pain, and he was taken to hospital for treatment for a week.

“We showed Omega evidence of these safety issues and they said they would fix it, but we didn’t want to go to work because it was so dangerous, and no one could tolerate the smell.

“They terminated everyone, they told us to leave the accommodation, or they would call the police, we didn’t know what to do, everyone was afraid.

“We ended up just roaming around Penrith after that before we had to leave the town.”

This was when Pradeep and the others bumped into local Penrith resident Irenie Sanderson.

Irenie explained: “They started work on May 9 and saw a terrible accident, asked the management for better equipment, and days later they were all fired.

“With them being fired, Omega Proteins cut their sponsorship, and without that, their visas were invalid, so they were stuck."

Irenie called Penrith Town Council member Jeff Thomson, who has led a campaign against the so-called Penrith Pong, allegedly originating from the Omega Proteins factory, to help them.

He said he was trying to get them more time in the accommodation to sort a new sponsor and tried contacting the Home Office, the Health and Safety Executive, the MP, and the police twice, but got nowhere.

“Eventually at around 7pm, two Cumbria Police officers arrived at the request of the company, and I was escorted off the site for trespassing,” he said.

Now out of town, Pradeep said he’s in Newcastle living with a former university friend he met in Ukraine while looking for a new sponsor, while his friends are in Leicestershire.

The Omega Proteins factory

Responding to the claims, spokesperson from Leo Group said: “In light of the recent false allegations, we must stress that the group operates in one of the most regulated industries and takes health, safety, and compliance very seriously.

“We have robust processes in place that are in line with best management practices and we are also certified to the ISO 45001 standard for health and safety and have been for many years maintaining the standard.

“The concerns raised by the eight former employees contracted through ReadyJob about safety in the workplace are completely inappropriate and incorrect.

“They were fully inducted and, after concerns were raised, had a meeting with our H&S manager to discuss and resolve any issues.

“Following this, they were all offered the opportunity to return to work.

“However, they refused and decided not to return to work.

“We, therefore, terminated the employment sponsorship in accordance with our contractual obligations and immigration rules.

“Some of the candidates who had applied are still employed and are currently working well within the factory.

“All administrative matters were handled by ReadyJob.

“During this time, we provided them with free accommodation. We also organised transport and flights for them all to return to India at our and ReadyJob’s expense.

“However, they refused to accept this and decided to remain.

“We have not only kept to our contractual obligations but have gone far beyond them to ensure they could return to India safely.”

On the accident that happend on May 9, the Leo Group spokesperson said: "Human error was the determining factor that led to this accident.

"Our health and safety department immediately investigated the cause of the accident and further control measures were put in place to prevent a recurrence.

"We are in regular contact with the injured person, who is recovering well and wants to return to work as soon as possible."