Sherbrooke Record e-Edition

Olymel labour dispute puts financial stress on pig farmers

By Michael Boriero Local Journalism Initiative

An ongoing labour dispute between workers and management at the Olymel slaughterhouse in Vallée-jonction has paralyzed Quebec’s pork industry for more than three months.

According to a press release last Friday, Olymel management “accepted a settlement proposal from the conciliation team assigned to the file by the Quebec Ministry of Labor and Social Solidarity.” However, the Union of Olymel Workers in Valléejonction rejected the offer.

“The attitude of union representatives is incomprehensible and will only delay the resolution of a conflict that has gone on for too long,” said Olymel Senior Vice-president Paul Beauchamp, adding that the proposal had all of the elements to bring both parties together.

The hog slaughtering, cutting and boning plant in the Chaudiereappalaches region ceased operations on April 28 due to an indefinite general strike called by the union. The Record reached out to the union, but did not receive a response prior to publication.

The Éleveurs de porcs du Québec sent out a press release last Thursday. They were hopeful the two parties would reach an agreement before the weekend. The organization, which represents pig farmers across the province, said the strike has caused a lot of problems.

“This is an unprecedented crisis for our production. The second in less than a year if we add the COVID-19 pandemic. The conflict must be resolved so that we can resume the pace of slaughter quickly,” said Éleveurs de porcs du Québec President David Duval.

He added that pig farmers have been trying to manage a major surplus of animals, but many of them are pushing their limits. There have been significant financial consequences, and the number of pigs on hold has reached historic levels.

There are more than 130,000 pigs waiting to be delivered to the slaughterhouse. And the fear is that most of them will need to be euthanized to free up space on farms. Stéphane Roy, a pig farmer in Danville, told The Record that his facility is overcrowded.

The lack of available space is the most pressing issue, he explained, as the pigs continue to eat, they are are also becoming larger, more agitated, and aggressive. And it is not possible to simply switch to another slaughterhouse, those facilities are also at capacity.

“Well there aren’t really any other [slaughterhouses], there are a few but they are already full,” said Roy, who holds roughly 16,000 to 17,000 pigs. He currently has 2,000 pigs ready for the slaughterhouse, but he is unable to send them to the Vallée-jonction facility.

Gilles Paré runs a smaller farm, Porcherie Paré, in Compton, and he has similar issues with the worker strike. He has about 350 pigs ready for the Olymel slaughterhouse, and he expects to deliver another 150 pigs for next week. He is also running out of room.

“It’s definitely the space, we don’t have any, we wanted to set something up outside, but I don’t have enough fences. It’s the biggest problem, and it has been more than 100 days, three months, and if it keeps going for a few more months I don’t know what will happen,” he said. Paré said that Olymel has tried to accommodate its clients by sending pig stock to Alberta. However, it is not a sustainable option, he explained, as the pigs need to be fed and hydrated at least two times throughout the journey to Western Canada.

He said both parties have been cavalier about getting back to the negotiation table, and it is starting to hurt everyone around them. It is not possible to suddenly stop the pig supply chain, Paré continued, the numbers will continue to rise if they aren’t able to offload them.

“The most dramatic thing in all of this is that it’s always the person at the bottom of the ladder that hurts. It’s the farmers. It’s always the people at the bottom that lose the most,” said Paré.

Sébastien Pagé, president of the Éleveurs de porcs de l’estrie, said the situation is the same across the province. Farmers in the Eastern Townships are losing patience. And while Vallée-jonction is not the largest slaughterhouse, it is an important one in the pork industry.

“It’s not the only slaughterhouse in Quebec, but it’s a major slaughterhouse. It’s a slaughterhouse that takes in 35,000 pigs per week,” said Pagé.

The goal right now is to avoid euthanizing the pigs, he told The Record, adding that one pig equals roughly 600 meals. It would be a tremendous waste of food, Pagé continued, but they will have to do it if the slaughterhouse does not reach an agreement with its workers.

Pagé said the financial burden stems from feeding the pigs for a prolonged period of time. It is not something pig farmers could have anticipated, not even after COVID-19 forced many facilities to close for several months.

He added that the province’s worker shortage has also become a topic of conversation. He has already heard of people leaving the industry throughout the strike. The Valléejonction slaughterhouse operates two shifts, but that could change after everything is settled.

“It will take several weeks before the situation stabilizes, even if the slaughterhouse opens tomorrow. The thing that scares us internally is if there will be enough workers at the facility,” said Pagé.

LOCAL NEWS

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2021-08-04T07:00:00.0000000Z

2021-08-04T07:00:00.0000000Z

https://sherbrookerecord.pressreader.com/article/281569473775567

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