Historic strike taking on profiteering business model that harms animals and workers

The first ever strike at a private veterinary practice in the UK will escalate this week – as a petition in support of the striking workers grew to 49,503 signatures.

Around 100 staff at Valley Vets in Cardiff, many of whom earn little more than the national minimum wage, have been on strike since July over poverty pay. Most support staff (80 per cent) report regularly borrowing money to make ends meet and five per cent report having to use food banks.

VetPartners, owned by £138 billion private equity fund BC Partners, claims it cannot afford to give the lowest paid workers at Valley Vets the real living wage of £12 an hour. But in 2023, the company reported gross profits of £553 million.

VetPartners says it is running at a loss despite its extremely healthy cash flow. This is because the company, which has more than 400 UK sites, has a policy of loading itself with debt to fund aggressive market expansion to increase its sale value. BC Partners bought VetPartners for £700 million in 2018; the company is now worth an estimated £3 billion.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said:  “No wonder VetPartners is being investigated by the Competition and Markets Authority. It is a private equity vulture buying up as many vet practices as possible and extracting profits by raising prices on pet owners and paying staff poverty wages.

“This is a business model that hurts animals and workers alike and Valley Vet’s workforce have had enough. They have’s Unite absolute support during these strikes.”

Rather than engage in negotiations, VetPartners has reacted to the strikes by closing its four satellite veterinary surgeries and moving all staff to its central hospital in Cardiff. The company says this is necessary to review Valley Vets’ business future. Unite, however, believes this is an attempt to intimidate the workforce into ending their dispute.

The Competition and Markets Authority is currently investigating VetPartners, Pets at Home, CVS Group, IVC, Linnaeus and Medivet for non-competitive practices. The ‘big six’, which now owns 60 per cent of UK veterinary practices compared to just 10 per cent in 2013, have been accused of overcharging and exploiting pet owners and low paid staff.

At Valley Vets, prices have increased by around 25 per cent over the past two years, with staff reporting pressure from the company to charge pet owners for even the smallest of treatments. Morale has also been impacted by an increase in the instances of ‘economic euthanasia’, which has been reported across much of the veterinary sector. This is when owners have animals put down that would otherwise recover because they cannot afford treatments.

Unite regional officer Paul Seppman said:  “The surgery closures are part of Valley Vets campaign to break the strike. Its actions are not only costing thousands in lost revenue but are clearly not in the interests of the animals that should be its first and foremost priority.

“Settling this dispute would barely dent VetPartners bottom line. It is choosing not to because it sees workers standing up for fairness as a threat to its exploitative business model. Our members are deeply committed to the animals they help to care for, but they cannot carry on being taken advantage of by a company that’s only motivation is profit. This dispute will not end until an acceptable pay offer is put forward.”

The workers have taken approximately six weeks of strike action since July. The next 24-hour strike will begin at  08:00 hrs on Friday 13 September .