JDE urges union committee to constructively participate in consultation

10/03/2021

Dismissal and re-engagement only a possibility “if the current collective and individual consultations are exhausted”

Jacobs Douwe Egberts have clarified the current position in relation to the contractual changes they are proposing to make for some staff at their Banbury coffee factory.  

They refute the Unite Union’s claim that they have issued notices of dismissal and re-engagement at this time (so called “fire and rehire” agreements).  They say that only if the current collective and individual consultations are exhausted, this could be one of the outcomes.

Rob Williams, JDE Banbury Plant Director, reiterated that JDE’s UK manufacturing operations were not competitive compared to their external UK competition and internal JDE factories.

He urged the union committee to constructively participate in the consultation to reach a mutual agreement that benefits both staff and the business.

Mr Williams said: “We are proud of our employees’ hard work, particularly during what have been unprecedented times as a result of Covid-19.

“We appreciate that now is a difficult time for all but there is an overwhelming need for change because our UK manufacturing operations are not competitive compared to our external UK competition and internal JDE factories. This is why we are proposing changes to working practices at the factory to make sure we are in the strongest possible position to compete in the future.

“We notified our associates and the trade union of the proposals in January followed by five weeks of full-time, informal discussions. We hoped to reach mutual agreement through informal negotiations but this has not been the case. We have started the S.188 legal process which moves the negotiations into the collective consultation process with the aim of reaching mutual agreement. There is a role for everyone and the proposals do not include any redundancies within the manufacturing unit.”

Mr Williams pointed out that notices of dismissal and re-engagement have not been sent out and urged the union committee to fully engage to find a way forward in the negotiations.  

He said: “We have not issued a notice of dismissal and re-engagement at this time. Once the collective and individual consultations have been exhausted, this could be one of the outcomes of the S.188 process. We urge the union committee to constructively participate in the consultation to reach a mutual agreement that benefits both our associates and the business.

“The last year has shown that we can operate in a Covid-secure way to protect everyone’s health and safety so we are confident that these conversations can take place while following Covid regulations.”


Published: by Banbury FM Newsteam

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