Usdaw accuses Unilever of ‘breathtaking complacency’ in pension dispute

Date: 20 January 2012

Usdaw, the union that represents workers at Unilever’s manufacturing sites in Leeds and Port Sunlight, has accused Unilever of ‘breathtaking complacency’ in its approach to the escalating pension dispute at the company.

The accusation comes on the day Usdaw members at Port Sunlight and Leeds begin a second round of 24 hour strikes as part of a 12 day rolling programme of action involving unions at all of Unilever’s 12 UK sites.

Picket lines will be in place from 6.00pm today at Port Sunlight and from 7.00pm today at Seacroft in Leeds.

The rolling programme of action was agreed by reps from Usdaw, Unite and the GMB, following Unilever’s refusal to reconvene talks on the future of the company’s final salary pension scheme, despite a first wave of strikes in early December.

David Johnson, Usdaw National Officer said:

“Unilever’s continuing intransigence and refusal to return to the negotiating table, coupled with its statement this week saying ‘it is currently not clear how the dispute will be resolved’ demonstrates a breathtaking complacency in its approach to the dispute.”

“Our members, and I’m sure every employee at the company, knows that the dispute will only be resolved around the negotiating table and the sooner Unilever wise up to this fact the sooner this escalating and damaging dispute will end.”

“The apparent indifference of the company to the impact of the dispute has angered our members to the extent that they are now pushing for much longer and more frequent industrial action to maximise the financial and operational impact on the company.”

“Unilever’s customers, shareholders and other stakeholders could be forgiven for thinking that the company cares less for its employees and its corporate reputation than it does for one of its brands of soap powder or deodorant.”

Notes for Editors:

1. Usdaw represents workers at Unilever’s manufacturing facilities at Port Sunlight in Wirral and Seacroft in Leeds. The union also has a small number of members at Unilever’s Research and Development facility in Port Sunlight and at the company’s factory in Warrington.
2. Unilever closed its final salary pension scheme to new members in 2008, but promised the 5,000 existing members that this would make the scheme safe for the future. Despite this promise, Unilever announced in May 2011 that it intended to close the scheme altogether and replace it with a career average scheme that will mean workers losing an average of 20% of their projected retirement income with some losing up to 40%.
3. In November 2011, Usdaw members voted by a margin of 5 to 1 in favour of industrial action in protest at Unilever’s proposals. The first 24 hour strikes took place on 8 and 9 December 2011.
4. Usdaw (the Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers) is the UK’s fourth biggest and fastest growing trade union with over 410,000 members. Membership has increased by more than 17% in the last five years and by nearly a third in the last decade. Most Usdaw members work in the retail sector, but the union also has many members in transport, distribution, food manufacturing, chemicals and other trades.