Coronavirus in the United States -
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Officials at a U.S. meat processing plant have been suspended after being accused of staging bets in April on how many of their employees would test positive for Covid-19.
More than 1,000 employees have contracted the virus at the Tyson Foods pork packing plant in rural Iowa.
The son of one of them, Isidro Fernandez, who died of the disease in April, has filed a complaint against the meat giant.
The company is accused of having encouraged sick workers to continue to go to the factory in the midst of a pandemic through a system of bonuses, calling for the "responsibility" of employees so that Americans "do not starve to death. ".
"At least one worker at the establishment who vomited on the production line" was invited by management to continue working, details the complaint.
An open internal investigation
At the same time, adds the text, one of the heads of the factory "organized a bet between officials to try to guess how many employees would test positive for Covid-19".
Tyson Foods has announced that it has suspended those responsible and launched an internal investigation.
"We are extremely upset by the accusations involving part of the management of our Waterloo plant," CEO Dean Banks said in a statement.
Tyson Foods is a "family business," he said.
Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren called the situation "horrible" on Friday.
"Those in charge have bet on them as in a cock fight," she denounced.
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