Wigan production line staff wearing three pairs of gloves as temperature drops - whistleblower

An anonymous employee contacted the Post to say hundreds of people were working in low temperatures at Bakkavor in Ince, formerly Hitchen Foods.

She said there was no heating on parts of the site, no hot water and a geyser for hot drinks was broken.

The whistleblower claimed that despite requests for bosses to do something, they had endured low temperatures for several months.

She said: “It’s being run like in the 50s. There’s no heating and no hot water for staff to wash their hands and get warm. Staff have been complaining since October.”

She claimed staff on the production line wear two or three pairs of gloves under plastic gloves, as well as multiple pairs of socks, hats, vests and thermal leggings.

The firm supplies food to a host of supermarket giants.

A spokesman for Bakkavor said: “As a chilled food manufacturer, all production areas in the factory are required to run at low temperatures for food safety reasons.

“The temperature is closely monitored and we provide appropriate protective clothing for our colleagues to keep them warm.

“We are aware that there are some communal rest areas that are running at lower than normal temperatures, which has been exacerbated by the recent cold weather.

"The welfare of our colleagues is of utmost importance to us, it is our priority to remedy the situation and we are working hard to restore those areas to normal temperatures.”