Within weeks, some Canadian food inspectors may be on the picket line instead of in food plants or on guard against the entry of foot-and-mouth disease into Canada.
The Public Service Alliance of Canada has announced that if a contract dispute with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency is not resolved soon, the union has a mandate to strike and could be on the picket line by “mid- to-late April.”
The union and the CFIA went to conciliation in late March but by April 2, no deal in the long-simmering negotiation had been announced.
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But agriculture minister Lyle Vanclief said last week food safety and the fight against foot-and-mouth would not be compromised if there were a strike.
“A number of meat inspectors would be involved in that, but I discussed that with the agency and we’re confident we can continue the surveillance that will be necessary to continue the surveillance over foot-and-mouth disease for, unfortunately, weeks and months ahead,” the minister said March 30.
Canadian Alliance agriculture critic Howard Hilstrom has urged the government to make sure a labor dispute does not jeopardize food safety or the fight against foot-and-mouth.
MPs will have a chance April 5 to question agency officials at a two-hour Parliament Hill committee meeting on the strategy for guarding against foot-and-mouth, including the implications of a strike.
The issue also was expected to be raised in an emergency debate in Parliament April 3 on the foot-and-mouth scare.
A PSAC strike would not affect all CFIA employees who work in the food safety and disease detection field.
Many food inspectors are considered “essential service” and unable to strike. But the workforce would be reduced and those left on the job would face increased workloads.
“The CFIA members, who include support staff, dairy, plant health, animal health, fruit, vegetable and meat inspectors, are asking for respect with a fair economic increase with additional increments,” PSAC president Nycole Turmel said from union head offices.
She said senior executives in the government have received raises of 8.7 percent on already large salaries while CFIA workers have had little salary boost in the past six years.
The federal auditor general recently said the agency is not doing enough to keep qualified staff from heading to the private sector, or to attract new inspectors.
