Britvic face ‘strike action’ from staff in row over plant closure

Soft drinks manufacturer Britvic faces a revolt among staff at a plant in the UK, which is earmarked for closure, as workers fight for an improved redundancy package.

The company, which owns the brands J2O and Robinsons, as well as being the Pepsi bottler for the UK and Ireland, announced its intention to close its Norwich plant in October.

It has produced Robinsons drinks in Norwich for more than 90 years and co-owns the factory at the heart of the dispute with Unilever. Unions have described Britvic’s presence as ‘synonymous’ with the local area.

Under the proposals, production would be transferred to Britvic’s manufacturing plants in East London, Leeds and Rugby with the company aiming to improve the efficiency and productivity of its manufacturing operation. The Rugby factory will benefit from £100 million’s worth of investment, which will create an additional 80 jobs.

It was proposed the site will close towards the end of 2019, but members of the union GMB who works for Britvic have voted ‘in favour of industrial action’ in an attempt to force Britvic’s hand in redundancy negotiations.

The striking employees want improvements to the redundancy package offered by the soft drinks manufacturer as part of the factory’s closure. The union had previously called on Britvic’s independent directors to intervene in the closure, and had said it was ‘disappointed’ by the response.

GMB regional officer Ivan Mercer said: “Members have voted in favour of industrial action in the hope that the company will agree to meet with GMB to negotiate a settlement. GMB have offered to negotiate on numerous occasions to avert a dispute with no response from the company.

“Unfortunately, it appears inevitable that members will need to follow through on their decision to take strike action and action short of strike action.”

Britvic had previously said: “We are fully committed to treating our employees fairly and with respect, and will be providing a full support package including redeployment, assistance to find jobs elsewhere and redundancy packages.”