Cadbury's workers say shove your Buttons - strike moves closer over
broken pay promises
2nd September 2009
Workers at Britain's leading chocolate maker Cadbury told their
employers to keep their buttons with the news today (Wednesday,
September 2nd) that the workforce has voted overwhelmingly for
action to prevent the company breaking its pay promises.
With the consultative strike ballot at Cadbury revealing that
the workers, members of Unite the union, voted eight to one in
favour of strike, a full industrial action ballot will now proceed
at the company bringing a strike among the 1,200-strong workforce
one step closer. Strike action, should it be agreed, is
certain to hit supplies of some of the most popular chocolate
products in the country, including Wispa, Crunchie, Dairy Milk and
Creme Egg.
The workers are angry that Cadbury is breaking a long-standing
deal struck with the workers at Cadbury's UK plants at Bourneville,
Chirk, Marlbrook and Somerdale, by refusing to honour the final
year of a three year pay agreement.
Jennie Formby, Unite national officer for the food and retail
sector, said the result showed that feelings among the workforce
are running high: “Cadbury's bosses have showered themselves and
shareholders with 30 per cent profits, and the CEO Todd Switzer
pockets, in one year alone, perks which far outstrip what the
average Cadbury worker can ever hope to make in a lifetime. Yet the
workforce is told they would be getting only buttons and a half per
cent in their pay packets.
"It is little wonder that this left workers choking with anger,
as this overwhelming vote shows. It is unacceptable that a company
as profitable as Cadbury seeks to use a recession to snatch back
money promised to workers, so unless Cadbury thinks again and fast,
a full industrial action ballot will get underway.
"We urge Cadbury now to honour its promise to its workers
because they deserve nothing less than the fair pay they were
promised.”
Cadbury had agreed a deal of RPI plus 0.5 per cent with the
workforce, with a minimum of two per cent for 2009. However, as RPI
in February was 0 per cent the company is breaking the original
agreement and instead imposing a deal of 0.5 per cent. This comes
despite the 30 per cent leap in profits across the company this
year.
The ballot was forced to exclude the workers at the Somerdale
site because they have a punitive `no strike' clause in their
contracts. However, Unite says the original agreed pay deal
is particularly important to them to enhance not just their last
earnings before their factory closes and production moves to
Poland, but also to boost their final redundancy pay.
Unite will shortly announce full details of the industrial
action ballot.
ENDS
For further information, contact Pauline Doyle on 07976 832861
or Jennie Formby on 07702 206436
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