British ColumbiaThe B.C. government says meat inspectors will go back to work Friday, after the province and BCGEU agreed the workers should be classified as essential.Inspectors can go back to jobs, after B.C. beef farmers and ranchers saw work disruptedCBC News · Posted: Sep 12, 2025 12:31 AM EDT | Last Updated: 7 hours agoMeat inspectors will be designated as essential workers, according to the B.C. government. (Submitted by Hanceville Cattle Company)Provincial meat inspectors will be back at work Friday, after the B.C. General Employees’ Union (BCGEU) and provincial government agreed the inspectors should be considered essential workers.The decision comes after growing concerns that local beef farmers and ranchers would take a major hit to their bottom line with no inspectors due to the ongoing BCGEU labour strike.Meat inspectors are required to be at licensed slaughterhouses if a small beef farm wants to sell its product within the province.BCGEU president Paul Finch told CBC News the union doesn’t have the power to designate workers as essential on its own. However it agreed that meat inspectors should be classified as such, which would make them exempt from strike activity.Minister of Agriculture Lana Popham said abattoirs play a critical role in supporting farmers and ranchers.”I am grateful for the BCGEU’s collaboration and willingness to work with us to safeguard human health, support animal welfare and support the farmers and producers of this province,” Popham said in a statement Thursday evening.Finch previously told CBC News that slaughterhouse inspectors weren’t intentionally part of the job action.”I think this is an oversight by government,” Finch said.Finch added provincial meat workers are paid less than their federal counterparts.”We think they should be compensated fairly,” he said.WATCH | BCGEU escalates strike action: BCGEU escalates job action across B.C.The B.C. General Employees’ Union is ramping up its job action, rolling out new actions in more cities in B.C. As Johna Baylon reports, the union says the targeted job action has meant the public hasn’t felt the impact so far, but say that may change.Longtime beef rancher and Area L director in the Thompson-Nicola Regional District, Doug Haughton, said Thursday that three plants in the Kamloops area had been affected by the lack of meat inspectors since the strike began.He said meat inspectors check the identity and health of the animal prior to harvest, and check the organs after harvest. “Anything that’s deemed not fit, it goes elsewhere. So they have quite a role to play within our plants,” he said.He said the small abattoirs could be greatly affected by the lack of a meat inspector.”They only have so many days a year that they can process, and [if] you take a week or two out of their schedule — that’s hard on them. And then if it affects their 4-H fairs, that’s harder yet.”Meat inspectors are expected to be back on the job Friday, according to the Ministry of Agriculture.Thousands of public service workers have joined picket lines since strike action began on Sept. 2, according to the BCGEU.With files from Akshay Kulkarni, Lauren Vanderdeen, Janella Hamilton and Jenifer Norwell
B.C. meat inspectors designated as essential workers after service disruptions amid BCGEU strike
