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| Unite Regional Officer, Rick Coyle |
Employees at
the Molson Coors brewery in Burton-on-Trent, who face being sacked and
reinstated on inferior pay and conditions, will be lobbying the public for
support in the town’s shopping centre on Saturday (25 May).
The workers
will be on hand at The Octagon Centre in New Street between 10.00-14.00,
next to a 4ft cut-out of a beer bottle.
The event,
organised by Unite, the largest union in the country, is designed to drum up
public support on the eve of the result of a strike ballot in the dispute over
the management’s proposals, which include axing the wages of 184 brewery
technicians by up to £9,000-a-year.
The
455-strong workforce at the brewery – Britain’s biggest – face being sacked
after 10 June and reemployed on inferior pay and conditions.
The ballot
result, expected to strongly endorse strike action, is due on Tuesday (28
May). A mass rally of the workers is due to be held at Burton Albion
football club at 18.30 on Tuesday when the ballot result will be announced.
Talks between
the company management and Unite are due to be held at a secret location on
Tuesday and Wednesday (28-29 May) to seek a solution to the long-running
dispute.
The company’s
senior global directors have been bombarded with 2,500 emails asking for a fair
settlement at the Burton plant which produces Carling, Grolsch, Coors Lite and
Cobra lagers, as well as beers including Worthington, White Shield and Stones.
Unite
regional officer Rick Coyle said: “The event on Saturday is designed to
explain to the Burton public the true facts about this dispute which could see
some workers lose up to £9,000-a-year.
“The
brewery is a major employer in the region and should treat its workforce with
fairness and respect.
“We are
expecting the workforce to vote by a large majority for strike action, but we
hope that next week’s negotiations with the company will
result
in a positive and constructive outcome.
“Molson
Coors is a highly profitable company that has benefited greatly from the
chancellor’s reduction in beer duty in the recent budget – and there is no
financial reason for these proposed swingeing cuts in pay and conditions.”
One of the
key issues in the dispute is that employees have been given notice of radical
new shift patterns with 30 days annual leave - leaving 335 days either working,
or at home and contactable to come into work at 23 hours notice.
