Meat factory managers hopeful of averting escalation in vet strikes

MEAT factory managers are hopeful that a Department of Agriculture intervention can help avert any escalation of the industrial action currently being taken by Ireland’s veterinarians.

Department officials have contacted the vets’ union, Veterinary Ireland, with a meeting likely to take place early next week.

The union’s members began a limited work-to-rule action this week due to the department’s plans to replace temporary veterinary inspectors with factory operatives to undertake BSE testing, and technical agricultural officers to undertake postmortem meat inspections in Irish meat plants.