Cadbury bidding war bad for UK workers and business, Unite will
advise parliament
12th January 2010
Unite, the leading union in the food industry, will today
(Tuesday) repeat that a bidding war is bad for Cadbury and its
workforce as rumours intensify about the future ownership of the
chocolate maker.
The union is to give evidence to the influential Business,
Innovation and Skills select committee of the House of Commons
today which is conducting an emergency inquiry into the attempted
acquisition of Cadbury.
Unite wants a stronger voice to be given to workers during the
takeover process. Cadbury is already subject to a takeover
bid from US-based transnational Kraft, which Unite fears could be
paid for in job losses and cuts in pay and conditions for the UK
and Ireland workforce.
Speculation is now growing that Ferrero is also in the process
of finalising an offer for Cadbury, adding to Unite's concerns that
the interests of the UK and Irish workforce will be lost as a
bidding war erupts between companies based in two separate
continents.
Unite says that the bids for Cadbury underscore the ease with
which otherwise stable UK companies can be subject to hostile
acquisition. Speaking ahead of the select committee session
at which he will give evidence, Unite's deputy general secretary
Jack Dromey, said: "Takeover policy is shrouded in secrecy and
tilted towards profiteering, not the public interest, so much so
that the interests of banks and far-off boardrooms come before
those of loyal workers and communities. Billion-dollar buy-up
packages are put together without any need to guarantee jobs and
investment.
"UK and Irish workers, and UK businesses, certainly do not
benefit and they will continue to lose out if bidding wars, like
the one unfolding for Cadbury, are allowed to determine the future
of our companies and country."
Also set to appear before the select committee, Jennie Formby,
Unite's national officer for food and drink, added: "The speed with
which Cadbury has gone from "not for sale" to "under offer" is
startling. Once the speculators started to hover, a great UK
and Irish company, a household name with products loved by
generations of consumers, was plunged into uncertainty.
"Two months on from Kraft's initial interest, we are still none
the wiser as to Kraft's plans for Cadbury. Thousands of
workers are in the dark about their jobs and it cannot be right
that they will remain so until any deal, whether with Kraft or
another bidder, is done and dusted."
Despite continued pressure on the company, Unite has failed to
secure further information from Kraft on it intentions towards
Cadbury's workforce. With analysts predicting that Kraft will
be seeking to generate up to $1.5 billion in savings, and fears
growing that much of these could be made through mass redundancies
and restructuring, Unite is pushing for commitments on minimum
employment protections, including no compulsory redundancies or
site closures, and protection for pensions.
Unite says it also wants Kraft to be much clearer about its
plans for all sites in the UK and Ireland, and for details of the
business plans for the combined company as a whole.
The union says it will continue to engage in discussion with Kraft
and any other company mounting a bid for Cadbury, including
Ferrero. Last month, Unite launched its "Keep Cadbury
Independent" campaign to win security in any takeover for workers
in the UK and Ireland.
ENDS
Notes: Jack Dromey, Unite's deputy general secretary, and Jennie
Formby, Unite's national officer for food and drink, will give
evidence to the Business, Innovation and Skills select
committee of the House of Commons tomorrow, Tuesday (12th
January). The Committee is sitting in Portcullis House and
will begin its evidence session at 10.30am.
For further information, please contact Pauline Doyle on 07976
832 861
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