Unite: Jobs at redditch fish suppliers threatened by M&S
More than 180 jobs at the Coldwater Seafood plant in Redditch are threatened by management plans for redundancy and plant closure, Unite the union announced today (Thursday).
The company, a trading division of Icelandic Group UK, has begun a 90-day consultation procedure on the proposed redundancies following an announcement by Marks and Spencer that it is to seek an alternative supplier of the delicatessen products produced at the plant.
Unite regional industrial organiser Joe Clarke said: “This decision is disastrous for workers at Coldwater. They have given an enormous amount of commitment to the company for many years, and the workforce includes many members of the same families for whom the plant is an important part of their lives.
“Marks & Spencer source their delicatessen seafood products from this Coldwater plant, and about 80 per cent of the range at the site is produced purely for M&S. To some extent Coldwater has been locked into an arrangement with Marks & Spencer which means it has been restricted from supplying other retail companies with the deli range of their seafood product.
“I believe Marks & Spencer has some ethical responsibility to the 183 workers who have done nothing but ensure a good quality product has been supplied to Marks & Spencer for a long period of time. Unite will campaign vigorously to reverse this wrong and unethical decision by Marks & Spencer.”
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Further information: Joe Clarke on 07979 517572.
Or Unite media office on 020 7611 2550
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