Morrison facing industrial action amid claims of 3 depots closure |
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Published
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Mon, 12 Sep 2005 13:20
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LONDON: Ailing UK grocery group WM Morrison Supermarkets Plc. may face a strike by its employees. The employees, who claim they have information about the company's intention to close down three main distribution centres, have threatened a strike action, which may cripple movement of the company's supplies within days.
The closure plan, leaked to the GMB Union, envisages closure of distribution centres at Bristol, Warrington and Aylesford, Kent, as the company, the fourth largest food retailer in the country, streamlines operations in the wake of its buy-out of Safeway. The union has called for a ballot on Thursday, which is expected to be "yes".
The three centres have some 2,000 workers. The company has plans to open a new centre in Kettering, with 100 jobs. A company spokesperson said a thorough review of the depot operations is under way and since acquiring Safeway, some 180 stores have been sold and "the reality is that we have more depot space and capacity than we need. Therefore, it is likely that not all current operations will be retained once our review is complete."
She claimed the company is keeping all depot employees and trade union area organisers as fully informed as possible during this process.
The company in a statement said depot closures were likely after the takeover of Safeway, but it had not taken any decisions on individual sites. "The GMB has previously claimed that there are secret plans to close depots and it is disappointing that they are seeking to cause further anxiety among our depot employees with yet more speculation. They are well aware that a review is under way. No conclusions have been reached."
The 8,000 employees who will vote on industrial action are mainly depot workers and lorry drivers. The unions insist that the strike could turn into a national walk-out.
The GMB Union said the company will have to pay a very high price for taking its workforce for granted and completely losing their trust. "It cannot be long before the shelves in Morrison's supermarkets are empty."
Morrison has cut profit forecasts five times in less than a year as its $6.24 billion acquisition of Safeway Plc. went haywire. It wants to sell smaller Safeway stores and expand on larger ones as these are more profitable.
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