OTTAWA (Staff) – The Ontario public service strike continued through its third week last week and the 290 provincially inspected meat plants remained closed.
Close to 3,000 workers, many in rural communities, have been out of work for the duration.
A spokesperson for the plants, most of them small local operations, said many may go bankrupt if the strike does not end soon.
The provincial Conservative government last week went before the Ontario Labor Relations Board to ask that striking meat inspectors be declared an essential service and ordered back on the job.
The board rejected the application. Under a deal worked out before the strike, a core of inspectors are on the job to make sure there is no uninspected slaughtering.
