Dairy milk testers serving 175 herds across British Columbia are on strike.
The B.C. General Employees Union (BCGEU) said Friday the nine testers, known as dairy production technicians, began job action on Nov. 25. The union said the workers served a 72-hour strike notice on Nov. 21 after 20 months of bargaining with employer Lactanet.
The workers collect milk samples from some of more than 400 farms across the province for testing at the Lactanet lab in Chilliwack. The BCGEU said the workers are seeking increases to mileage compensation to cover the costs of driving their personal vehicles to farms that are sometimes hundreds of kilometres away. The union said Lactanet milk testers in B.C. are currently paid $0.41 per kilometre.
“These workers are demanding that Lactanet reconsider how it’s using the fees it charges farmers for testing and cover the actual current-day costs of travelling to farms to gather samples,” BCGEU treasurer Maria Middlemiss in a statement.
Jack van Dongen, one of the striking milk testers and a former dairy farmer, said many milk testers work second jobs to make ends meet.
“We’ve said for years that our rate of pay for mileage is totally outdated,” said van Dongen. “[Testers] can’t afford to be working when they’re losing money just driving to their work.”
He explains the nine testers on strike are part of an optional program dairy farmers can use to support herd management. The tests include information like the protein and butter-fat content in the milk, which affects how much farmers can sell the milk for. They also test for somatic cell count, which can be an indicator of milk quality. Farmers can face financial penalties if that cell count is too high.
BC Dairy said in a statement the strike will not affect the quality of milk in the province. “All milk produced on farms in BC is inspected and sampled before it leaves the farm to ensure quality and safety. The ongoing job action at Lactanet does not affect the mandatory testing requirements that all farms in BC must meet,” said the statement.
The BCGEU said the workers are calling on Lactanet to return to the bargaining table.
Vista News has reached out to Lactanet for comment.
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