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• Shareholders back campaign to keep Cadbury independent
• Loss of Cadbury's independence 'very sad' day for UK manufacturing, says Unite
• Please don't sell Cadbury out, workers appeal to shareholders
• Fury over top Tory branding Cadbury's workforce 'whingeing'
• Cadbury workers plan protest against Kraft takeover
• Cadbury workers head for London to urge government - help us save UK jobs!
• No warm words from Kraft - Unite will fight to the end to secure future for Cadbury workers
• Will Kraft and Cadbury workers pay the price for Cadbury swoop? Global unions demand Kraft ends its silence
• Cadbury can have great future - but government must police Kraft pledges
• Call Kraft and Cadbury to account, Unite urges Commons

Cadbury workers head for London to urge government - help us save UK jobs!

29th January 2010

Cadbury workers are to bring their fight for a future to Westminster next week. 

• From midday, Tuesday, February 2nd, 2010
• Victoria Tower Gardens (near the House of Lords), SW1

On Tuesday, February 2nd, as Cadbury shareholders begin to vote on Kraft's revised bid for the 200-year old chocolate maker, workers will gather in central London to ask the government and MPs to do all they can to protect jobs and investment at the UK sites.

They will also be supporting Unite’s campaign to urgently amend takeover regulations so that the loss of a great UK manufacturer can never happen again.

Despite repeated approaches to the US conglomerate by Unite, the workers' union, as it strives to pin the company down on its plans for Cadbury, Kraft has declined to provide details of its plans and to give the workforce confidence that they will not be facing the axe. 

That is why Unite is bringing workers to the capital, to ask that government supports them in their plight and does all it can to pin Kraft down on commitments, particularly in respect of the ‘promises’ made throughout the bidding process that they would save the soon to close Somerdale plant in Keynsham.

Fears are deepening that with Kraft's heavy debt, estimated to be around £22 billion, Cadbury's new owners will inevitably look to make savings through cuts in the operation of its soon-to-be new acquisition, and that UK manufacturing will pay the price.  

Unite says that workers and the Midlands community feel they have been heavily let down by the big shareholders and the City, who have ignored their plea of "Don't sell us out!", but that government intervention can help secure them a future. 

Ahead of next week's lobby, Jennie Formby, Unite national officer for food and drink, said: "While institutional shareholders and hedge funds will be selling out Cadbury and its workforce in the City - despite huge opposition from private shareholders and the general public - we will be fighting for its future. 

"It is the dedicated Cadbury workforce and its army of loyal consumers who are this company's future.  This is a great company, loved around the world and providing good jobs for thousands of people.  We need to keep it that way - which is why we're coming to Westminster to ask our government and our MPs to do all they can to make Kraft commit to jobs and investment for Cadbury.

"We will also be urging government to reform takeover regulations to ensure this never happens again; employees must have be given the voice and be able to negotiate guarantees before any takeover so that workers don’t pay the price for takeovers like this."

Coaches bringing workers from Bournville and the surrounding community are expected to leave from the factory at 8am on February 2nd to head for Westminster.  The workers will gather before going into Committee Room 14 in the Commons where they will brief MPs and peers on their plight.

ENDS