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Leder: Landbrug og Fødevarer kæmper for at undgå en strøm af erstatningssager fra MRSA-ofre

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Panikken breder sig på Axelborg

Den nærmest hysteriOLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAske reaktion fra Landbrug & Fødevarer på,  at Fødevarestyrelsens oplysninger om MRSA inficerede gårde skulle offentliggøres, har vakt undren. Ombudsmanden fastslog i juni 2014 efter grundige høringer og juridiske undersøgelser, at der er tale om miljøoplysninger, og at oplysningerne derfor skal være offentligt tilgængelige. Desuden er landmænd som arbejdsgivere forpligtede til at orientere nye og gamle ansatte, hvis der er risiko for smitte. Så der er ingen grund til at holde MRSA smitten hemmelig, når man nu alligevel er forpligtet til at oplyse om den, kunne man synes.

Fagforbundet 3F nævner overraskende på sin hjemmeside,  at flere af deres medlemmer ikke fik oplyst, at der var MRSA på deres arbejdsplads mellem alle grisene, og enkelte har i al diskretion fået en erstatning fra deres arbejdsgiver på betingelse af, at de ikke oplyser beløbet.

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De smittede oplever, at de må afholde sig fra nærkontakt med  familien og andre mennesker. Desuden føler de sig magtesløse, fordi deres infektion er uhelbredelig.

Forklaringen på landmændenes panikreaktion, som bl.a. kommer til udtryk i en stævning imod staten (klik her:  Anonymiseret Staevning_09-07-2014) for at tvinge en hemmeligholdelse igennem, er nok begrundet i frygten for, at de berørte landmænd rammes af en stribe erstatningssager fra nuværende og tidligere ansatte, som aldrig er blevet oplyst om MRSA-faren i svinestalden. Det bliver dyrt, men endnu værre er det tab af omdømme sagerne ville forårsage.

I offentligheden vil man naturligvis stille spørgsmål ved landmændenes moralske integritet. På den ene side hyler de op som piskede for at undgå selv at blive ”stigmatiserede”, hvis alle får at vide at deres bedrift er MRSA-ramt. Men på den anden side er de koldere end jordbæris, når de ikke oplyser deres ansatte om den store risiko, de løber ude i den forpestede staldluft.

Ofte er der tale om migrantarbejdere fra fattige lande, som ganske enkelt bliver sendt hjem, hvis de konstateres MRSA-positive for at undgå mere vrøvl. Men et par danske svinepassere er nu stået offentligt frem og har derved medvirket til at afsløre landmændenes skjulte dagsorden.

På sigt kan sagerne medføre, at danske svineavlere får meget svært ved at rekruttere nye medarbejdere og at de gamle siger op for at redde deres helbred. Så bryder svineproduktionen sammen og efter en kort periode med økonomisk oprydning vil dette medføre store økonomiske gevinster i form af sparede tab på den underskudsgivende produktion.

Der er også et udenrigspolitisk aspekt af denne sag. For dansk eksport er ikke tjent med et renommé, at vi i Danmark importerer billig arbejdskraft fra Rumænien, Sydamerika og Asien, som bliver MRSA smittede og sendt hjem, så de kan bringe smitten videre.

Denne trafik må stoppe øjeblikkeligt.


English version

Panic spreads among Danish pig farmers

The almost hysterical reaction from the farmers lobby organisation “Agriculture and Foods” on the intention to disclose about MRSA infected, has aroused curiosity. The danish Ombudsman decided in June 2014, following extensive consultations and legal studies that the information is covered by the Aarhus Convention on public access to environmental information, and so there was no legal reason to keep it secret. Farmers are also as employers obliged to inform new and old employees if there is a risk of MRSA-infection. So since farmeres are already obliged to share the information, there is no reason for keeping it secret, one might think.

Trade union for the workers in the pig industy, “3F” surprisingly mention on its website, that several of their members were not informed that there was MRSA in their workplace among all the pigs, and a few discreetly received compensation from their employer on the condition, that they do not disclose the amount.

The infected people feel that they must refrain from close contact with the family and other people. Moreover, they feel powerless, because their infection is incurable.

The explanation of farmers’ panic reaction, expressed in an court case against the State to force the State to refrain from following the Obbudsman’s decision is probably caused by fear, that the affected farmers will face a series of claims of compensation from current and former employees, who were never informed about MRSA danger in the pigfarms. It will turn out to be very expensive, but even worse is the loss of reputation, these cases would cause.

The public will naturally question the farmers’ moral integrity. On the one hand they howl up like whipped to avoid being “stigmatized” if all are told, that their farm is MRSA-infected. But on the other hand, the are ice-cold when they do not inform their employees about the high risk they run out in the pestilential air in the pig-stables.

Often these are migrant workers from poor countries are simply sent home, if they found MRSA-positive to avoid more trouble. But a couple of Danish pig-workershave stood up publicly and contributed to the disclosure of the pig-business’ secret agenda.

Eventually the cases can give the Danish pig farmers a very hard time recruiting new employees and that the old will quit to preserve their health. So the Danish pig production will collapse and after a short period of economic cleanup, it will lead to significant economic benefits in terms of saved losses caused by the loss-making production.

There is also a foreign policy aspect of this case. For Danish exports has no gain from a reputation that Denmark imports cheap labor from Romania, South America and Asia, and send them home as soon as they are MRSA-positive only to pass the dangerous infection on in their home country.

This traffic must stop immediately.