BCM Fareva has proposed slashing members’ terms and conditions, including sick pay and redundancy payment provisions, while pre-emptively threatening to ‘fire and rehire’ staff if agreement cannot be reached on the proposed changes.
 
The company has refused Usdaw’s repeated requests to remove the threat of ‘fire and rehire’ to allow meaningful consultation to take place. The industrial action ballot will take place from 18 May until 2 June.
 
Daniel Adams - Usdaw National Officer says: “The proposal to drastically cut sick pay and other terms and conditions for these key workers, who have given their all through the coronavirus pandemic, is totally unacceptable.
 
“Coupled with the unnecessary threat to ‘fire and rehire’ staff before we had even started discussions, the company’s course of action means we have been left with little choice other than to ballot our members for industrial action.
 
“90% of Usdaw members voted in favour of industrial action in a consultative ballot, which shows the strength of feeling on the company’s proposals and their confrontational approach. BCM Fareva can stop this now, if they withdraw their ‘fire and rehire’ threat.”
 
Notes for editors:
 
Usdaw (Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers) is the UK's fifth biggest trade union with over 400,000 members. Membership has increased by more than one-third over the last couple of decades. Most Usdaw members work in the retail sector, but the union also has many members in transport, distribution, food manufacturing, chemicals and other trades.
 
For Usdaw press releases visit: http://www.usdaw.org.uk/news and you can follow us on Twitter @UsdawUnion