News

The workers at the Austrian owned food packaging company, MMP, in Bootle Merseyside, are in dispute over the unfair method of selection for the redundancies and the redundancy terms being offered.

Steve Walsh, the head of UNI Graphical said, “UNI stands with Unite and fully backs this on-going industrial action. We join Unite in calling for MMP management to return to talks with the union to secure a reasonable negotiated settlement to the dispute and avoid further industrial action.”

The company is planning to make 49 people redundant following a reduction in orders.

The union had already agreed significant changes to terms and conditions to reduce the number of redundancies to 37 but discussions broke down with the company over the selection criteria and redundancy terms.

All 149 workers took part in the first strike action which commenced on Friday, 10 February until Saturday, 11 February during which a demonstration took place outside the gates. Further action also took place on Monday, 13 February until Wednesday, 15 February.

The weekend shift will walkout on Friday, 17 February until Saturday, 18 February. A picket line will be in place on Saturday, 18 February from 12.00 noon until 6.00 pm.

Further stoppages at the Bootle site, involving key staff, are planned for Tuesday, 21 February until Monday, 27 February.

Unite national officer, Ian Tonks said, “We are really disappointed with how MMP management chose to handle the situation. Forty-nine loyal staff, many long-serving, are being made redundant and they deserve better.

“All workers are asking for is fair treatment over redundancy."

Unite regional officer, Phil Morgan said: “The strikes are being solidly supported by the workers and their union – Unite.

“This is not an action our members wanted to take but felt they had no alternative. The redundancy terms on the table are significantly inferior to terms negotiated on previous occasions. And the selection criteria adopted by the company is highly subjective and open to manipulation.

“At the end of the day the only way this dispute will be resolved is for the company to reconsider its position and return to talks.”