Violence In The Meat Industry

EDM number 1405 in 1997-98, proposed by DN Campbell-Savours on 09/06/1998.

That this House welcomes the robust approach being taken by Her Majesty's Government to the problems of Meat Hygiene Service staff; notes staff are often faced with threatening behaviour, violence, intimidation, verbal threats, assault, physical threats with weapons, racial and sexual harassment and damage to personal property, from meat plant operators and abattoir staff; further notes that Ministers have set up a confidential help line to enable MHS staff to report such acts on premises where they are carrying out their public duties; further notes that Ministers have instructed that all such intimidatory activities are to be drawn to their personal attention; notes that information on prosecutions in future will be the subject of separate press notices; notes that the results of questionnaires sent to 1,500 operational staff reports 403 incidents of intimidatory activity since April 1995 including a large number of acts of violence; understands a number of allegations are under consideration by MAFF investigators; congratulates the Investigations Branch of MAFF Legal for the work they undertook in securing the two most recent successful prosecutions of meat plant personnel; calls on the CPS to strengthen the hand of MAFF investigations officers by prosecuting whenever and wherever possible cowboy operators and their staff who flout the law; and strongly endorses Ministerial instructions to MHS staff to remind the industry that MHS has the power under legislation to effectively halt some or all of the production on premises where intimidatory acts are reported.

This motion has been signed by a total of 26 MPs, 1 of these signatures have been withdrawn.