Weak employment laws to blame for Pfizer's decision to close
R&D site in Kent
2 February 2011
Unite, Britain's biggest union, has today blamed weak employment
legislation for allowing Pfizer to close its world class R&D
site at short notice, with little consultation with the 2,400
strong workforce.
Unite national secretary, Linda McCulloch, said: "Weak
employment legislation is to blame for Pfizer's sudden decision to
close its world class site in Kent. Elsewhere in Europe Pfizer
would have been required to meet with the workforce well in advance
of such an announcement. It seems once again British workers have
been dumped by a multinational company without good reason.
"We want to know why the company found it necessary to make a
sudden announcement without proper consultation with the workforce
and what communication they had with the government.
“I intend to meet our reps and members and the company as soon
as possible to discuss the decision to close this site in the
UK.
"The closure is disastrous for UK science and the hand wringing
from Vince Cable and science minister David Willets is a poor
disguise for doing nothing. The UK is a world leader in scientific
research and to just accept the closure as a corporate decision is
not good enough. If the government wants economic growth it has to
make it happen. Unfortunately, the Tory-led government wants to
make it even easier to hire and fire workers by reducing workers'
protection from unfair dismissal."
ENDS
Contact: Ciaran Naidoo on 07768 931 315
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