This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.
JDE staff set to vote on a deal after three weeks intensive negotiations
19/07/2021
Unite the union says the deal removes the ‘fire and rehire’ plan, but other elements will remain confidential for now
Workers at JDE (Jacobs Douwe Egberts) on Ruscote Avenue are set to be balloted on a new pay and employment conditions package following three weeks of intensive talks between the management team and Unite union representatives. Unite says the package removes the management’s proposal to ‘fire and rehire’ staff.
The long running dispute has seen a rolling programme of industrial action including an overtime ban and a number of strike days. That action was suspended at the start of the latest negotiation period.
Unite says the details of the package will remain confidential while it is communicated to their members this week. There will then be a ballot of the workers on whether to accept the deal. That should be completed by the end of the first week of August.
The union says the key components of the package include removal of the management’s controversial ‘hire and fire’ proposal; safeguarding pay and employment conditions; and generous compensation if an employee has to change shifts.
Unite national officer for the food industry Joe Clarke said: “We have had three weeks of intensive negotiations with the management. We have now hammered out a package safeguarding pay and employment conditions for our members.
“We believe that this is the best deal that can be achieved through negotiations and we will be recommending acceptance to our members.
“The details of the package, which remain confidential, will be communicated to our members by Unite officers and reps this week. We then intend to hold a ballot on the proposals in the following fortnight.
“I would like to pay heartfelt tribute to our members, their families and the wider Banbury community for the tremendous level of support and solidarity they have demonstrated during the course of this dispute – that support was a major contributor in obtaining the deal we now have and shows what can be achieved if working people stick together in adversity.”
A JDE UK spokesperson said: “We are pleased to have reached a deal with the union which our associates will now be asked to vote on through the union’s ballot process.
“We recognise this has been a difficult time for them and their families and appreciate their patience throughout the process. Change is needed at Banbury manufacturing and we remain hopeful that an agreement can be reached that secures the future of the factory.”
Published: by Banbury FM Newsteam