United Biscuits jobs move proposal slammed in parliament
19th May 2009
United Biscuits' proposal to move 110 UK jobs, including 53
Liverpool jobs, to India has been slammed by 32 MPs in
parliament.
Unite welcomes the support from MPs, including Jane Kennedy,
George Howarth, Joe Benton and Edward O’Hara, who have condemned
the company’s eagerness to sacrifice its loyal UK workers to turn a
miniscule profit for their private equity owners Blackstone and
PIA.
The union believes the company is acting unethically exploiting
cheap labour in India at the expense of people’s jobs in Liverpool
in order to make even greater profit.
Unite, which represents workers at the Binns Road Liverpool
site, has been urging United Biscuits to shelve the jobs plan for
12 to 18 months until there is a clearer picture on how the current
recession is affecting the people of Liverpool. Unite says it
will work with the company to make efficiency savings to stop these
jobs moving abroad.
Unite regional officer, Debbie Brannan, said: “Private
equity-owned United Biscuits is more concerned about increased
profit. The fact is that these jobs cuts are just a greedy
attempt to make even more profit. This is morally wrong at any
time, but in the current economic climate with workers unlikely to
find alternative employment it is an especially heavy blow.
“We believe that the finance function could be kept in the UK
with similar savings to those the company is seeking to make but
without the risk of moving members’ jobs abroad to exploit cheap
labour.
“The support of MPs is heart-warming for the workforce but is
also an important statement that the House of Commons is concerned
about companies that expect to sell in Britain but do not treat
British workers with decency and respect.
"We urge United Biscuits to work with Unite to save the jobs of
its loyal workforce who are already struggling to find their way
through the recession and worried about what jobs there will be for
their sons or daughters.”
Unite is urging people to support the workers and sign the
petition to keep United Biscuits jobs in Liverpool at: www.unitetheunion.org/northwest.
ENDS
For further information please contact Karen Viquerat,
Communications Officer on 01704 546 500 or 07768931316 or Debbie
Brannan on 07768 931271.
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