{"id":29094,"date":"2021-06-04T16:04:29","date_gmt":"2021-06-04T15:04:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/unitelive.org\/?p=29094"},"modified":"2021-06-04T16:04:33","modified_gmt":"2021-06-04T15:04:33","slug":"weetabix-fire-and-rehire-strikes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/?p=29094","title":{"rendered":"Weetabix fire and rehire strikes"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Shops are expected to run out of Weetabix this summer after workers at the company\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Northamptonshire factories voted to strike over \u00e2\u20ac\u0098fire and rehire\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 plans that would see pay slashed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Around 80 engineers who are members of Unite, the UK\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s leading union, at the company\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s factories in Kettering and Corby will take part in a series of one day strikes during June, July and August that are still to be scheduled. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Weetabix has issued the engineers with new contracts and work patterns, which will result in major cuts in shift allowances. There will also be a move to require more day working than shift working, further contributing to the cut in pay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some of the affected engineers will lose up to \u00c2\u01415,000 a year. There are also major concerns about health and safety of the workers at both plants due to the low number of engineers who will now be on duty at certain times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unite regional officer Sean Kettle said, \u00e2\u20ac\u015bWeetabix and its US parent company Post Holdings are incredibly profitable and are not facing any financial difficulties.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bOur members are well aware that these fire and rehire attacks are simply an opportunistic response to the uncertainty caused by the pandemic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThey are incensed at the company\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s unacceptable behaviour, which is especially galling given their pivotal role in keeping Weetabix\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s plants operating during the worst of the pandemic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThe strikes will impact Weetabix supplies this summer and it is expected there will be shortages in the shops. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bIndustrial action can still be prevented if Weetabix withdraws its fire and rehire threats and engages in constructive negotiations with Unite\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s representatives.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unite has repeatedly raised the alarm over an outbreak of \u00e2\u20ac\u0098fire and rehire\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 disputes across the UK as unscrupulous employers look to exploit workers using Covid-19 as an excuse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The union is running a national campaign to get the government to outlaw the practice, in line with other competitor countries, to give UK workers protection. A recent Survation poll for Unite found seven in ten want the practice banned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unite assistant general secretary for politics and legal, Howard Beckett said, \u00e2\u20ac\u015bIt’s quite clear that the public is firmly on the side of working people when it comes to the horrific practice of fire and rehire.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“There is no grey area here. They see that this is an objectionable practice that should be banned. The government has to get on the same page as the voters on this – and fast.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Shops are expected to run out of Weetabix this summer after workers at the company\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Northamptonshire factories voted to strike over \u00e2\u20ac\u0098fire and rehire\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 plans that would see pay slashed.  Around 80 engineers who are members of Unite, the UK\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s leading union, at the company\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s factories in Kettering and Corby will take part in a series […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":28586,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"wps_subtitle":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29094"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=29094"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29094\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29095,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29094\/revisions\/29095"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/28586"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=29094"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=29094"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=29094"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}