Hundreds of jobs have already been lost in the beef industry, and hundreds more workers have been put on protective notice because of the EU's slaughter for destruction scheme, Mr John Kane, the national industrial secretary of SIPTU, has warned.
He was speaking following a national meeting of shop stewards from the meat industry held in Dublin yesterday to assess the jobs crisis arising out of the scheme, which requires only a limited number of processing workers.
"It is fair to say that hundreds of workers in meat plants have already lost their jobs and we are looking at hundreds more who have been put on protective notice this week," he said.
"We are considering balloting our members in the industry with a view to serving notice seeking a proper severance settlement for our members hit by this new scheme.
"The scheme, which does not require boners, packers or other workers, has also highlighted the low level of pay and the temporary nature of the work in the plants," Mr Kane said.
The slaughter for destruction scheme has been coming under increasing public criticism as the number of cattle being slaughtered and destroyed rose by a further 2,522 yesterday.
The Department of Agriculture said seven plants took part: three AIBP plants, Ashbourne Meats, Roscrea, Kildare Chilling, Honey Clover in Kilkenny and Dawn in Co Roscommon.
The total number of cattle destroyed this week stands at 6,166 and 4,162 animals were dealt with under the scheme last week, giving a total of 10,328.
The Minister for Agriculture, Mr Walsh, has been asked by members to attend the meeting of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on European Affairs, which will be held on Wednesday next. The proposers of the motion to invite the Minister to discuss the cull arrangements - Mr Tony Gregory TD and Senator Brendan Ryan - expressed concern about the EU scheme. Mr Gregory described it as "appalling waste" and Senator Ryan questioned the cost of destroying good food.
Mr Sean Barrett TD of Fine Gael said the slaughter for destruction scheme was unacceptable, especially as it was not set up to reassure consumers but to reduce the amount of surplus beef. He said his constituents told him the scheme was driving up the price of beef for Irish consumers.
Mr Tom Enright of Fine Gael said he was dealing with worried constituents every day who feared they were going to lose their jobs in meat plants. Some had already been laid off.
Dr Mary Upton of Labour said the slaughter of so many animals was creating a crisis of confidence and she wanted to see the BSE figures published every week, not every month.
Mr Tom Moran, assistant secretary of the Department, said no one in their right minds would want to destroy clean food but the scheme was a short-term EU measure to support the market.
The scheme was "cranking up" and he expected that 10,000 animals would be destroyed this week.