Unite, the union, to fight pay cuts at Molson Coors brewery

The Carling brewer is consulting on the possible loss of up   to 26 jobs at its Burton brewery, along with changes to employment conditions that could potentially lead to pay cuts. The brewer has stressed that no decisions have been made and it wants to reach an agreement with Unite.

Unite said today that workers have been given notice of “radical new shift patterns” with 30 days annual leave, “leaving 335 days either working, or at home and contactable to come into work at 23 hours notice”.

A mass meeting of Unite members has been organised for Thursday (21 March) at Burton town hall at 6.30pm.

Unite regional officer Rick Coyle said: “We have told the company we will accept no imposed changes, but will work hard to reach a solution.

“We have explained we will ballot for action midway through the 90-day consultation process, so we are ready for strike action if there is not a satisfactory resolution.

“The company’s proposals are completely unacceptable and one of the proposals could mean that nearly 200 brewery technicians losing up to £9,000-a-year.

“The company is profitable and we believe that with proper discussions and goodwill, we can achieve the efficiencies that management is seeking, without cuts to our members’ pay and conditions.”

A Molson Coors spokesman said: “Since July 2012, Molson Coors has been engaged in discussions with Unite representatives with the purpose of identifying opportunities to save costs and increase flexibility to enable Burton Brewery and Shobnall Maltings to compete in a declining beer industry and challenging economic environment.

“The proposals cover potential changes to organisational structures, terms and conditions of employment as well as flexible ways of working. This, alongside the investment we are making into the brewery itself, builds a sustainable future for brewing in Burton.

“Potential changes to terms and conditions of employment do include proposals for moving to a different working structure in certain areas of Burton Brewery. This is aligned to skills and capabilities required in role and may potentially impact on individuals pay. This is an area that will be discussed during the consultation process.”

He added: “Over the last couple of days we have been speaking to those that work at Burton Brewery & Shobnall Maltings to explain to them what we are proposing to change. We take our obligations in relation to consultation extremely seriously and over the period of consultation, we will engage both the Unite Union and their representatives to investigate ways in which we could reach agreement.

“We intend to commence discussions as soon as is reasonably practical. Whilst these discussions are on-going, we won’t provide further commentary; we believe it is better to talk through proposals with our people before commenting in public.”