The Rural Voice, 1979-05, Page 17walk -outs, strikes, "sick" calls that cripple farm marketing and
reduce farm income and raise consumer prices for people who
have no part in the dispute whatever.
Let's have government start off by setting an example.
We have had the meat inspectors calling in sick this past week
(time of writing) These, I understand, are mainly federal
government employees .. Their contract expired last September
It is now April and they walk out leaving some 7,500 hogs which
farmers have already delivered to the marketing yards to be held
until the inspectors recover from their epidemic.
The packers don't want them if they can't be graded and
inspected. The farmers can't even go to the marketing yards and
take their pigs home because they can't identify them and
strange pigs fight. True they are tattoned but it is impossible to
read the tattoo until they are slaughtered.
There is no need for this foolishness.both the government and
inspectors knew the contract would expire in September.
Why weren't negatiations started last August?
Why weren't hog producers notified of the expiry date of the
contract?
Are there no penalities for misrepresentation of fact? We know
perfectly well that not all the inspectors who "called in sick"
were sick. Couldn't this be fraud?
I guest farmers have become so used to being abused that
they refuse to fight back and perhaps wisely so.
Instead of farmers complaining about being abused we should
have called in the HumaneSociety. It seems to me the penalties
are much more severe for abuse of "dumb" animals. Some of
those pigs must have had a bad time.
There are still about three weeks for us to read and listen .1 also
hope there is time for some serious thinking.
GODERICH TIRE
SALES
24 Hour Road Service
TRUCK
and
FARM
Dealer for
Seiberling
•Michelin
M.D.G.
CaII us DAY or NIGHT
for prompt SERVICE
Bus. 524-4116 Res. 524-4258
HOEGY
FARM SUPPLY LTD.
Brodhagen, Ontario
Tel. 345-2941
After hours 345-2243
*BARN WASHING
AND DISINFECTING
Spraying with CARBOLA
whitens and disinfects as it dries
*CATTLE SPRAYING
For Lice and
warble control.
•Seaforth •Brodhagen
/
*Dublin
•Mitchell
THE RURAL VOICE/MAY 1979 PG 15