Ineos takes measures to ensure continued operation of plants amid outbreak

Chemicals giant Ineos has announced a series of measures to protect its workers against coronavirus and ensure the continued operation of its plants and businesses through the coming weeks and months.

The company said that as the manufacturer of essential materials it is taking immediate action to limit the spread of the virus.

These include office-based staff working from home unless in exceptional circumstances, all employees maintaining a one-metre rule within offices or plants, rigorous use of hand-gels and surface cleaning, restricting visits to plants and offices, postponing non-essential work on plants and cancelling group events.

Sir Jim Ratcliffe, chairman of Ineos said: “We take our responsibility as a global manufacturer of essential products to everyday life very seriously, with health and safety our top priority.

“As a result of the rapidly evolving Covid-19 pandemic we are taking all necessary steps to ensure that we keep our people safe and keep our plants and our businesses running.

“This includes changes to working patterns for our staff globally, a ban on all non-essential travel, changes to our site cleaning regimes, the postponement of non-essential work at sites and the cancellation or postponement of all events involving groups. These mandatory rules will all be in effect from Monday, March 16.

“Our responsibility and our focus is to ensure the plants that we run, which produce products essential to everyday life including the healthcare system, remain operational, with the safety of our employees the number one priority.

“We will continue to review the situation and make all necessary adjustments to minimise the impact we have as a global business on the spread of Covid-19, prioritising the health and safety of our staff, while recognising the role we need to play in the production of essential products.”