With operations returning to normal at local meat plants, it is easy to forget the disruption caused by last week’s strike by members of the NI Public Service Alliance (NIPSA).

In the end, it is questionable what was actually achieved other than damaging the incomes of people who work in meat processing or the farmers who supply these businesses.

Neither group is in a position to absorb an income hit. Recent DAERA analysis suggests the average beef and sheep farm in NI has a net annual income of around £16,000, while a report published in 2021 suggested the average full-time employee in NI food manufacturing earned just over £22,000.

With the general public not impacted by the strike, perhaps NIPSA thought it might, as a minimum, get widespread national media coverage. But that didn’t really happen as attention quickly turned to flooding across NI as the week progressed.

However, it must be recognised that there are serious issues to be addressed around public sector pay in NI and how it has fallen behind counterparts in Britain and the Republic of Ireland. And within DAERA veterinary service in particular, problems with recruitment and a high vacancy rate have put added pressure onto existing staff.

In an ideal world the issues would be instantly resolved by a large injection of cash from the British Treasury. But it is also fair to question whether a better model could be found in the likes of meat processing, potentially freeing up roles and creating an improved work environment for remaining staff.

In NI, the Food Standards Agency is the competent authority for meat hygiene controls, with the work undertaken on behalf of the FSA by DAERA veterinary service. The FSA charges meat factories for DAERA services and the factories pass on a chunk of these costs to farmers by way of fees at slaughter.

Review

Given the pressure on the entire system, it would seem to be an opportune time for an independent review into whether all these official controls are necessary or if they should partly fall on individual factories to deliver.

Either way, the last thing low-income farmers need is another strike across DAERA veterinary service.

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