Local authority vets are to ballot for possible industrial action over a proposal to transfer them from local authority employment to the Food Safety Authority Ireland (FSAI).

Last week, Fórsa welcomed a three-month extension of negotiations on the issue, but said council-employed vets had become the “meat in the sandwich” in a dispute between the FSAI and the County and City Management Association (CCMA), which has threatened to transfer them to the FSAI.

The two public bodies can’t agree the renewal of a ‘service-level agreement,’ which covers the cost of inspections of small abattoirs including craft butchers and artisan food producers.

The agreement was due for renewal at the end of this month, but the FSAI agreed to extend the deadline.

The union says the FSAI has also threatened to outsource the work to another, unnamed, agency. This would result in taxpayers paying twice for the same service.

Fórsa’s Local Government Divisional Executive approved an industrial action ballot, and said it would ballot all its members in local authorities if a fair solution was not reached.

Under a service level agreement between the CCMA and the FSAI, local authority vets provide food safety controls, including inspection of all animals before and after slaughter, at around 600 food businesses that supply meats to retailers and establishments including nursing homes, hospitals, hotels, restaurants and canteens.

They also support small-scale and artisan businesses, which contribute to local economies and underpin employment in farming and the agri-food sector. As well as regulating the sector, the vet service supports mentoring, support and training in the sector.

Fόrsa’s head of local government, Peter Nolan, criticised the way the 30-plus vets found out about the proposal, and the absence of any consultation with them or their union. He has called for an immediate withdrawal of the proposal and said any dispute over the move would involve all local authority staff if necessary.

“It’s grossly unfair that our members have become the meat in the sandwich in a dispute between two public bodies at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. In an apparent negotiating tactic, the Food Safety Authority of Ireland is proposing to withdraw the local authority vets from the supervision of businesses crucial to food safety and rural economies, without having any discernible alternative in place,” he said.

The union has also called on the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform to intervene in the dispute.

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