Latest on RF Brookes

RF Brookes workers in Leicester, members of BFAWU, the bakery workers union, have been taking discontinuous strike action in recent weeks against a vicious management who had announced 190 redundancies. At the same time, the bosses are reneging on the previously agreed redundancy package. Some workers, if they lose their jobs, also stand to lose thousands of pounds compensation as a result. The factory was recently taken over by a food production company called “2 Sisters” which employs 20,000 people worldwide.

The money grabbing character of the company is shown by the fact that 2 Sisters’ boss Baljinder Boparan, according to the Financial Times, was among the 289 investors in Eclipse 35, “a film partnership ruled to be an ‘aggressive’ tax avoidance scheme by a tax tribunal in April”. On average, each of these ‘investors’ were aiming to fiddle £400,000 in tax.

It now appears that the company are increasing the redundancies to around 350 workers, leaving perhaps 60 engineers behind- effectively closing the factory. The Socialist Party has fully supported the action taken so far, but we think, given the new situation, it is worth considering occupying the factory in order to prevent management from removing machinery. On that basis an appeal could be made to workers in other factories in the group for solidarity action.

Bloodsucking bosses like these have to be stopped!

Please send messages of support and solidarity to tony.lewis@bfawu.org