In October, a historic industrial dispute by veterinary workers in South Wales in the UK suffered a devastating setback, with the employer VetPartners announcing the sudden closure of four clinics where staff had been agitating for measures to address low pay and poor working conditions.
Traditionally a poorly unionized sector, the veterinary industry has seen a recent surge in union membership with Unite’s British Veterinary Union, a national branch representing workers in hundreds of workplaces, seeing a rapid rise in membership.
Veterinary workers include veterinarians and qualified nurses, but also administrative and supportive staff, many of whom are increasingly squeezed by low wages and poor terms and conditions. Unite the Union reported some of these workers using food banks amid a cost-of-living crisis, with wages failing to keep up with inflation despite a boom in pet ownership and a spike in the cost of veterinary treatment.
This is not just a straightforward dispute for pay and conditions, however. The plight of these workers is inextricably linked to the recent widespread purchase of veterinary practices by private equity firms, with large companies now owning nearly 60 percent of UK practices. It seems there is almost no physical asset, firm, or piece of infrastructure from which the rapacious private equity sector won’t attempt to extract income.
From children’s homes to football clubs, private equity now holds a significant stake in the services and entities we use and relate to on a daily basis. As economist Brett Christophers has contended:
[Asset managers] own, and extract income from, things — schools, bridges, wind farms and homes — that are nothing less than foundational to our daily being. . . . Asset managers increasingly own and control our most essential physical frameworks, providing the most basic means of social functioning and reproduction.
For many, seeking veterinary treatment for their dog now…
Auteur: Alice Teller
