The animal care assistants and reception staff at Valley Vets are really poorly paid. They are on either minimum wage or just above it, which in the current climate is untenable, said Suzanna Hudson-Cooke, chair of the British Veterinary Union (BVU), part of the Unite union. VetPartners is a very large company, with an estimated value of about 3bn. They could afford to pay the real living wage of 12 an hour.
The domestic animal care sector has been progressively taken over by corporations since it was deregulated in 1999. Almost 60% of UK vet surgeries are now owned by six large companies, which have bought up hundreds of independent practices while often retaining their original names, leaving the public in the dark about the new corporate makeup of the sector.
At least three of the dominant groups, including VetPartners, are owned by private equity investors. The strike comes as the Competition and Markets Authority continues its investigation into the UK pet market. Providing the best possible care of pets comes above all else, said a spokesperson for VetPartners.
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