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A pay increase of €10/hour is on the table for temporary veterinary inspectors (TVIs), the Irish Farmers Journal understands.
Veterinary Ireland and the Department of Agriculture have been negotiating for the last two days in an attempt to resolve the dispute that has been disrupting work at some factories.
The TVIs, represented by Veterinary Ireland, have declined to do extra shifts in factories since before Christmas.
Moratorium
They say that there is a lack of vets on the TVI panel due to a moratorium on recruitment since 2011.
TVIs are paid €64.49/hour to provide meat inspection services at plants.
A pay increase of €10/hour would bring their wages to just under €75/hour for work at meat factories.
Veterinary inspectors employed by the Department are on a pay scale of €56,616 to €96,289
If a vet carried out three shifts per week, it would work out at €11,700 for the year.
Newly qualified vets are typically paid €35,000, depending on the employer and the size of practise, according to gradireland.ie.
More senior vets typically earn €50,000 to €60,000.
Veterinary inspectors employed by the Department are on a pay scale of €56,616 to €96,289.
Northern Ireland pay scale
By comparison, in Northern Ireland, meat inspectors are on a pay scale of up to £31,760 (€35,397), depending on rank.
A veterinary inspector in the North can be paid £36,812 to £40,473 (€41,027 to €45,108) and no temporary vets are employed, DAERA said.
Mediator
Kieran Mulvey is acting as mediator in the discussions between the Department and Veterinary Ireland.
It is understood that he was asked to make changes to the agreement to allay concerns around public expenditure.
Veterinary Ireland told the Irish Farmers Journal that it has not heard whether the Department of Agriculture has accepted the latest proposals.
The offer currently on the table is “probably something we would accept,” said Veterinary Ireland CEO Finbarr Murphy.
“This is a completely unacceptable situation and the parties need to resolve the issue immediately, said Meat Industry Ireland's Cormac Healy.
"Some plants have now faced significant disruption for three weeks.
“This is impacting on the businesses caught in the middle, their staff, farmer suppliers and customers,” said Healy.
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