Veterinary Company Responds to Strikes by Closing Branches

A privately owned veterinary practice is facing union-busting allegations after announcing plans to close the first veterinary practices in the UK to go on strike.

Valley Vets veterinary group on October 15 he said this All four operating theaters in South Wales will close permanently, with only the hospital in Gwaelod y Garth remaining open.

Workers claim that the shutters were closed only unionized veterinary practices In the United Kingdom there is a direct answer to this question. long-standing dispute in surgeries due to low wages, poor working conditions and high fees charged to clients.

Workers in the group carried out strike action that lasted more than six weeks, starting from July 16. Staff are striking for pay increases of 10% for the lowest paid support staff, 5% for nurses and 2.5% for vets. VetPartners, is valued as an estimate £3bn says there is “no capacity to increase pay levels further”.

Valley Vets, which is owned by VetPartners and owned by private equity firm BC Partners, has stated that there is a “serious vet shortage”, that the use of local vets should be reduced, and that it wishes to make the practice “more sustainable”. Reasons behind sudden closures.

In September, Valley Vets had only planned a 24-hour strike. explained this The “uncertainty” of possible future strike action meant they would keep the practice at four branches closed until at least the new year. Workers who are members of the British Veterinary Union (BVU) described it as an attempt to “break the strike”.

Valley Vets bosses finally agreed to meet with union representatives on October 15. The meeting was supposed to be a return to negotiations, but instead bosses read out a prepared statement announcing that the four striking branches would now be closed permanently. As the statement was being read, the veterinary group began contacting workers at four facilities to inform them that they were being laid off.

Staff accuse VetPartners of trying to set an example for Valley Vets to dissuade staff at other veterinary practices from unionizing.

One Valley Vets employee, who asked Novara Media not to use his name for fear of retaliation, said: “This is a punitive action. Their aim is to point to the smoldering ruins at one point and say ‘look what the union has done’.”

In addition to closing four practices, Valley Vets is also accused of “insinuating threats” to the registrations of striking vets. All Veterinarians and Veterinary Nurses must be registered with the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS), the profession’s regulator.

A spokesman for Unite said: “Unite officers met with the RCVS following concerns raised by our members that managers at Valley Vets and Vet Partners had implied threats against them signing up to take part in legal industrial action. “During the dispute, a unit at Valley Vets There was also an instance where a union representative was reported to the RCVS by the manager, but this was very quickly dismissed.

“The regulator should not be used as a threat mechanism. This is another example of disgraceful behavior by the employer which promotes a culture of bullying and fear. Members voted unanimously to take legal industrial action. The right thing to do would be to return to the table and try to resolve the dispute as any reasonable employer would.

In August VetPartners’ head of HR threatened to call the police on a peaceful demonstration attended by 20 staff at the group’s headquarters in York. One worker told Novara Media that they were “surprised” by the threat, given the peaceful nature of the protest, adding: “We would have preferred a talk and an offer of a cup of tea.”

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “Instead of addressing the concerns of Valley Vets staff about workers using food banks and pet owners squelching their animals because they can’t afford treatment, it is closing surgeries to silence them.”

Since the strike the national membership of the BVU, which is part of Unite, has almost doubled.

BVU president Suzanna Hudson-Cooke said: “We believe VetPartners wants these closures to scare veterinary workers in the sector away from unionising, but we think this is having the opposite effect, with more and more vet workers being encouraged to join the union.” union every day.”

Allegations of union busting come after the dispute escalated.

In August, a non-striking Valley Vets employee smeared medical lubricant on the wall outside the practice where the picket line had gathered. One worker told Novara Media that this “damaged the strikers’ clothing but furthermore made union members feel that they were the intended target of humiliating and intimidating actions.” The complaint investigation found that management took “appropriate” action.

Valley Veterinarians declined to comment for this story.