Local Government Service Group Conference 19-20 June 2011

Defend meat inspection workers

Graeme Anderson

20 June: "How many of you had bacon this morning?" asked Graeme Anderson, Chair of the UNISON Food Standards Agency Committee.

"Well, what you ate was inspected by a UNISON meat hygiene inspector employed by the Food Standards Agency to make sure it was safe to eat, and was humanely slaughtered. And the same is true of every piece of meat produced in Britain.

Conference agreed a broad based campaign to defend the pay and conditions of meat inspection workers and in defence of other civil servants and migrant and contract workers.

Graeme told delegates of a catalogue of bullying and abuse of members working as meat inspection workers - and Conference pledged to expose the situation and work to improve matters.

He reported how "aggressive food producers... want to cut corners to increase profits." And he went on to say that "the food industry has too much sway over the Food Standards Authority."

Public health is further threatened by moves to self-regulation within the industry and the loss of independent inspectors. "This is absolutely scandalous, because standards are already too low," said Graeme.

He reminded delegates of the BSE "mad cow disease" scandal in the 1990s and the recent e.coli 0157 outbreaks in Scotland and Wales, telling conference "we simply can't allow this to happen again.

He highlighted UNISON's launch of a meat manifesto calling for high quality, independent state inspection of all meat plants. Graeme also called on UNISON to seek collective bargaining rights at civil service wide level.

This was "not just vital for members in the FSA but also for the 12,000 UNISON members across the civil service" to know there is a warden to hand to give them peace of mind."

top