The 140 vets who work at meat plants throughout the country oversee inspection and certification of meat for export. Some are not unionized and work on individual contracts, but most are members of the National Union of Public Employees (NUPE).

The veterinarians have not had a significant pay raise over the last decade, and have been negotiating with their employer, the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MAF), for two years. As part of this fight they organized a two-day walkout last June.

Their demands included a 10 percent wage increase backdated to last March and a further 4 percent increase in December 2001. MAF offered an 8 percent wage hike to higher-paid veterinarians and 4 percent for those on lower pay scales. The government agency also demanded a range of concessions, including a lengthening of the workday from eight to 11 hours and starting overtime pay after 40 hours in a week, rather than after eight hours worked in a day.

The strike occurred at the height of the meat processing season and generated a hysterical campaign against the veterinarians from government and opposition politicians, meat industry bosses, and leaders of Federated Farmers, the largest farmer organization in the country, which is dominated by capitalist farmers.

The vets were accused of "blackmail" by State Services Minister Trevor Mallard, and their demands were labeled as "preposterous" by Prime Minister Helen Clark. One worry of the employers in the meat industry is that conceding to the veterinarians' demands would encourage production workers to push for higher wage increases as well.

In an ominous threat, leaders of Federated Farmers threatened to publish and distribute the names and addresses of striking veterinarians. While the vets are employed by the MAF, their wages are paid by the meat companies.

Despite these efforts to whip up hostility against the strike, most meat workers were in solidarity with the fight. In the Canterbury region, where some 1,500 workers were either laid off or worked reduced hours during the strike, the Canterbury Meat Workers Union Secretary, Merv Taylor, said the layoffs are "the price to pay for a struggle for rights and for the right to work a 40-hour week. The vets have achieved what we have struggled for years to maintain."

The strike was settled February 22, with the veterinarians winning a 4 percent wage increase, the retention of their overtime payments, and the promise of a review of their employment conditions.

Stuart Needham is a member of the Meat Workers Union in Christchurch.  
 
 
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