TALKS between the parties involved in the meat plants dispute will resume tomorrow morning.
Representatives of the Department of Agriculture and the trade union, Impact, met yesterday and the meat inspectors and carcass classification officers involved in the dispute suspended industrial action while they continued. They had stated they would resume the action at 4 p.m. yesterday if there was no agreement. After the meeting, an Impact spokesman said no offer had been made and there was no resolution. But another meeting had been scheduled for Sunday as they believed something might come of it.
They would continue suspension of industrial action until Monday at 4 p.m. so work would continue over the weekend.
A Department spokesman said discussions would continue. The union wants extra staff and further training for existing staff, who are required by the EU to operate tighter inspection controls because of irregularities in the industry uncovered by the Beef Tribunal.
Meat plants are experiencing a seasonal peak in production with about 9,000 workers employed. There are fears of large-scale lay offs if the dispute is not resolved.