Mean Heinz forces strike closer
17 November 2010
Ballot of workforce begins next week
Heinz's refusal to rethink its assault on pay at its flagship UK
plant has brought strike action one step closer, Unite the union
warned today (Wednesday).
Workers at Heinz's plant in Wigan, which employs around 1,200, will
shortly begin to vote on a pay deal described by their union as
'cynical'. The food global says all that is on offer for the
workers is a pay freeze this year followed by a deal capped at
three percent in 2011.
Anger is mounting that, while workers are being portrayed as greedy
for failing to accept a shoddy pay deal, profits are climbing and
shareholders are rewarded with a double-digit dividend.
Further, the union says, any stoppage at the plant is expected to
make a considerable impact. The canned food factory, based in Kitt
Green near Wigan, produces more than one billion cans a year and
1.5 million cans of Heinz Beanz every day. It is the largest food
processing plant in Europe and the largest of Heinz's factories
around the world.
Jennie Formby, Unite national officer for food and drink, said:
"Heinz should do the decent thing by their workers. Do not try to
smear our members as greedy during a time of economic difficulty
for nothing could be further from the truth where these workers are
concerned.
"We say to Heinz, no more cynical attempts to use the recession to
restrict pay increases. All our members want is a wage that
helps them cope with the rising cost of living and a fair share of
the wealth they created in recognition of how responsible they have
been in these tough times.
"Heinz is not only recession resilient, it has seen sales increase
as more people turn to beans as a cheap but nutritious
staple.
"But while the company chooses to spend rising profits showering
shareholders in dividends and massive bonuses for management, loyal
workers are told to take it or leave it with a below inflation pay
deal for two years. Little wonder then that a strike looks
likely.
"Unite has told the company we remain open to talk at any time if
it is willing to increase the value of the offer to reflect its
massive success."
Despite these difficult economic times, Heinz is doing
exceptionally well with massive profits this year and forecasts to
do the same in 2011. The disputed pay deal would mean 3.3 per
cent for workers in 2010, plus £200, followed by a 3 per cent
capped deal the following year, clearly below RPI, which is
forecast to be higher than 3 per cent next March.
The ballot will open on November 24th and conclude by December
6th
ENDS
For further information, please call Pauline Doyle on 07976 832
861
NOTES
About Heinz:
- *98 percent of all baked beans sold in the UK are Heinz
- *Heinz is a $10 billion global company
- *This year it announced that operating income grew 9.9% to $406
million
- *Heinz products enjoy no.1 or no.2 market share in more than 50
countries
- *Heinz sells 650 million bottles of its iconic ketchup every
year
- *Heinz's top 15 power brands, including Lea & Perrins, TGI
Fridays and Weight Watchers, account for more than two-thirds of
its annual sales
- *Heinz employs approximately 32,500 people around the
globe
- *Heinz was founded in Sharpsburg (a suburb of Pittsburgh),
Pennsylvania, in 1869 by entrepreneur Henry John Heinz and places
much store by its corporate responsibility ideals.
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