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BFAWU: Warburtons, Blackpool, Closure Announcement

BFAWU: Warburtons, Blackpool, Closure Announcement

The announcement by Warburtons regarding the closure of their Brinwell Road site is terrible news for the workforce and terrible news for Blackpool. The workforce at Brinwell Road has built an outstanding reputation for excellence; winning internal awards for quality and hygiene standards. They have been a flexible and adaptable workforce and have done their utmost to help steer the company through difficult times. We sincerely hope that the company reconsiders its position in relation to this decision. We don't want to see any more sites closing, especially during a week in which the government has claimed to recognise the importance of the food industry in the UK. This announcement by Warburtons flies in the face of that claim, as it means we have a top food producer, not to mention a market leader, closing yet another site.

Should Warburtons go ahead with this, it will mean the loss of skilled jobs and skilled workers in a company that claimed it would create jobs at the time of the last general election. Indeed, Warburtons provided financial support to the Conservatives' election campaign in 2010 and gave them full support against Labour's so called 'jobs tax'. Since then, and contrary to their pre-election claims, Warburtons have axed jobs and closed sites, whilst remaining a profitable company. This will be the second Warburtons site closure in the North West of England in the space of twelve months.

The BFAWU feels that the decision to increase VAT has also had an influence, as workers have suffered from pay freezes and been hit with higher taxes. The spending power of ordinary people has been significantly reduced, thus affecting their budgets for even the most basic of items, including food. We have witnessed the almost nationwide emergence of foodbanks, high levels of job insecurity and an army of exploited, unemployed people providing free labour to big companies and other organisations as part of the government's 'Workfare' programme. The food industry is now engaged in a race to the bottom, which puts us in a very difficult place as a country.

The oft-spoken legacy of the Olympics has proved to be very short lived for our members in Blackpool. The need to understand the impact of ill-advised and poorly thought out governmental policies is now vital, as they are having a devastating effect on working people and their families. We are sick and tired of seeing workers losing jobs and we are fed up with our members’ lives being thrown into uncertainty. The BFAWU is disgusted that working people are continually being forced to pay the price for a crisis they did not create.

It is extremely disappointing that Warburtons have taken this decision and made this announcement. The BFAWU is due to enter a formal consultation with the company in the week commencing Monday, September 24th 2012, where we hope that an alternative to closure can be found.