Major unions GMB and Unite are warning of possible strike action at Bidfood.
The two unions claim thousands of workers could be fired and rehired on “worse terms and conditions”.
Unite has accused the wholesaler of “union busting” and has warned industrial action is an “inevitable consequence” unless the company reverses its decision to terminate their agreements.
Last Friday, Bidfood terminated its collective bargaining unit (CBU) agreements, by which a group of employees who are union members are able to negotiate with management on behalf of the union.
Unite believes the decision to terminate the agreements is a sign that Bidfood is about to “attack” workers’ pay and conditions.
The GMB said Bidfood is planning to employ “P&O style” tactics, comparing the wholesaler to the ferry company that fired over 700 of its staff and hired replacements on lower pay.
It also criticised the wholesaler for ending an agreement “that had been in place for 30 years” without “the standard notice period”.
“GMB, Unite and Bidfood have successfully worked together to improve workers’ pay, terms and conditions since at least the 1990s. Our members work hard delivering vital food supplies for the army, prisons and schools across the UK,” said GMB national officer Nadine Houghton.
“Without us, bosses will be able to do what they want, ripping up their contracts and enforcing worse terms and conditions.
“Bidfood faces becoming P&O on the road and GMB members won’t stand for it. All options are open, including an industrial action vote.”
Bidfood confirmed it has ended all collective bargaining unit (CBU) deals, but described the fire and rehire allegations as “inflammatory and untrue” and the result of deteriorating relations with the trade unions.
“This was not a decision we made lightly, however we’ve found in recent years that the CBU is not reflective of the interests of the majority of our employees and is therefore not fully representative of those working within transport or our warehouse roles, with a number of employees voicing concerns and frustrations over long delays in resolving issues,” said a Bidfood spokeswoman.
“Following the highly inflammatory and untrue claims made in the release that GMB has issued today, we want to make it clear that we are in no way threatening a ‘fire and rehire’ of our employees, nor are we planning to change their terms and conditions. It’s really disappointing to see GMB attempt to scaremonger in order to foster mistrust and doubt among our employees. This further cements our view that this is not the collaborative approach we aspired to have between ourselves and the trade unions.
“In order to best represent and support our warehouse and transport community, it’s important for us to work with our teams directly through our employee engagement forums, which we believe represent a wider range of our employees’ views across all sites, and are a more agile, effective and collaborative way to listen, discuss and resolve matters that are important to our employees, in real time.
“We really value our people and pride ourselves on being a people business. We take the importance of listening to and supporting them incredibly seriously, and we value contributions and feedback from all of our employees. We remain committed to ensuring an open approach to discussing and tackling issues and wholeheartedly believe this is a positive step for our business and our people.”
No comments yet