[The Netherlands] Four Caring Farmers will join forces with the Trade Union for Animals to reach agreements on the working conditions of working animals. They will lay down these agreements in a labour agreement concluded between the farmer, the employer, and the Trade Union for Animals, acting as the animal’s representative. Part of drafting the CLA is entering into and facilitating a dialogue between employer and employee on working conditions. The CLAs are future-oriented and offer a perspective for farmer and animal. Animal opinions are heard and taken into account. The outcomes should enhance the job satisfaction of farmer and animal.
Our approach is innovative, innovative and focuses on cooperation between farmer and animal.
In the ministry’s future plans for animal-worthy livestock farming, it is important to start from the intrinsic value of the animal. An employment contract between the farmer as employer and the animal as employee is part of this. In this way, the animal is considered a fully-fledged part of the chain and is also allowed to have its say from that role.
Before we sit down around the table or in the barn as employer and employee, preliminary research is needed. To question and hear animals properly, we do an inventory of all language research on chickens, pigs, cows and goats, and of recent animal welfare research on laying hens, breeding sows, dairy cows and dairy goats. We also look at recent communication research and ways to translate communication from animals to humans.
The importance of a good living and working environment for farmers and animals will also be positive for the climate. After all, intensification of livestock farming has proven problematic for animals (and farmers) as animal numbers have skyrocketed, with meat, dairy and egg production now causing a substantial share of global emissions. The Trade Union for Animals believes that once farmers and animals start talking to each other, reducing intensification will be high on the agenda. Positive changes for farmers and animals should always be positive for the climate as well.
