Dispute prevents investigation of food complaints

COMPLAINTS by the public about food outlets are not being investigated by the country's 280 environmental health officers following their latest escalation of a dispute with the Department of Health.

The move by IMPACT members, who are seeking revised pay and work structures, has also led to the suspension of routine sampling of food on sale and water quality testing in outlets including restaurants.

In addition, the EHOs have upended inspections of swimming pools, leisure centres and health clubs. While the EHOs will not be following up public complaints about food - there are more than 30,000 food outlets under their jurisdiction, including licensed takeaways and mobile food vans - they have undertaken to provide emergency cover where a serious threat to public health may exist.

The gradual escalation of the 14 month dispute has had a cumulative effect, according to Mr Robert Doyle of IMPACT's EHOs group. "The longer it goes on, the more danger there is for the public from a health point of view.

They hoped that this latest move would bring the issue to a head quickly, he said, to resolve the long running dispute and ensure food safety legislation in place since 1981 was enforced and new stricter regulations sought by the EU are implemented. The union has warned that checks are no longer being made on licensed outlets and this did not take into account "cowboy" operators, many of whom operate at outdoor events.

Since Tuesday, EHOs have suspended the investigation of complaints made by members of the public about items of food or premises. This accounts for a significant portion of their work.

IMPACT has claimed that increasing specialisation, including implementation of EU food safety directives, warrants EHOs being placed on the same pay scale as graduates, which would entail a pay increase of up to £4,000 a year, but the Department of Finance has resisted this.

It is understood that the EHOs claim would have implications for public service pay, particularly in the context of a claim by paramedics.

The Department of Health has insisted that talks on the dispute have not broken down. While it wanted to resolve matters, a spokeswoman said, the EHOs had chosen to negotiate outside PCW constraints.