Dozens of meat hygiene inspectors will now be hired by the Food Standards Agency (FSA), bringing an end to a four-year recruitment freeze.
Trade union UNISON claims the hiring is thanks to a successful campaign it has been running. As part of the campaign, a petition was launched urging the ‘hiring freeze’ to be ended and it was signed by more than 104,000 people.
FSA directors have agreed to fund 36 permanent executive officer grade posts in field operations.
The recruitment is expected to start in the coming weeks, with new employees taking up their posts as soon as possible, after they have undergone appropriate training.
UNISON national officer Paul Bell said: “This has been a long and dedicated campaign and we're delighted the FSA has seen sense and has proven that it values the role meat inspectors play in protecting the public.
“UNISON will be working with the FSA to make sure it sticks to its promises, making sure the new posts live up to expectations."
Meat Management has contacted FSA for comment on the campaign and the hiring process.
This story was originally published on a previous version of the Meat Management website and so there may be some missing images and formatting issues.
