Factory Workers Oppose 2 Sisters Food Group in Carlisle

Guest post by Brent Kennedy (Socialist Party, Carlisle branch)

Why make a lot of profit out of your workers when you can make a fortune out of them? That’s the greedy attitude of 2 Sisters Food Group towards their workers at Cavaghan & Gray in Carlisle. The company has increased its profits by a third, to £34 million, and the owner gave himself an extra dividend, up to £12 million.

But now he wants to take money off the 800 workers through lower overtime rates, lower sick pay, redundancy terms and bank holiday working. He also wants to scrap the attendance allowance and an ill-health termination agreement, skew the grievance procedure and replace weekly wages with monthly payments.

No wonder the workers voted by two to one in a ballot to reject this attack on their living standard and employment conditions. The mood among many is for a strike. Yet incredibly their union organiser from USDAW wants a compromise! Its like asking a mugger to “only” rob you of £50 instead of £100! Just how much theft is acceptable?

And instead of relying on the workers’ ability to stop production, this union official is running round Carlisle begging the Tory MP, the Council and anybody else to talk to the company. But these workers don’t need a Tory MP to fight for them, they need a trade union to do that — what else are unions for?

This shows just where the cosy illusions of “social partnership” over the years have got USDAW. If they are looking for support, they should organise a serious fight against this come-on and they’ll get solidarity from other union members. If they give in and compromise, this will only embolden the new boss to come back next year with more attacks.

JOIN THE FIGHT-BACK IN LEICESTER. This Saturday (14th July) show your support for the 2 Sisters workers (in both Carlisle and Leicester) by joining us at 2 pm at a protest called by the Leicester “Right To Work” campaign outside of Marks & Spencer on Gallowtree Gate. (Marks & Spencer being one of 2 Sisters biggest customers.)