Zero-hours fear of shopfloor staff facing jobs blow
Redundancies at BofA bottle cap factory
Shopfloor shift staff at a Bridge of Allan factory fear they could lose their jobs to zerohours contract workers following a round of redundancies.
Management at Guala Closures UCP in Steuart Road, which makes caps for whisky bottles and employs around 300 people, told staff of their proposal to shed about 45 jobs by letter earlier this month.
The 30-day consultation started on Monday (June 22).
Multinational Guala Closures bought United Closures and Plastics in 2018 for £19.1m.
In the letter staff were told that UCP made “a considerable financial loss” in the first quarter of this year. According to management, the lack of demand for the ‘Midas’ bottle closure made at the Bridge of Allan plant is “unprecedented”.
The factory’s general manager Ken Moran stated: “Our business continues to face many financial challenges and there is no doubt that Covid-19 is a severe additional factor.”
A UCP worker told the Observer: “The redundancies will only affect the lowest-paid machine operators.
“Most of the office staff have been working from home during lockdown, whereas shopfloor staff are working during the global pandemic, only to be facing redundancy.
“Some are concerned that management may remove longserving loyal workers and replace them with cheaper agency staff on zero-hours contracts.”
Union Unite, which represents workers at the plant, expressed dismay at the redundancy proposals.
Its regional officer Carrie Binnie said: “Unite has been in constant communication with our members at the factory and we will be offering every assistance possible during the consultation period over the proposed redundancies.
“We also plan to hold further discussions with management in order to explore every avenue to avert these job losses, and any more further down the line.”
Clackmannanshire and Dunblane MSP Keith Brown said this week: “UCP have confirmed that they have started the consultation process with
Unions which could see up to 45 redundancies at the Bridge of Allan plant which is concerning news for the area.
“I understand that this is not a result of the current pandemic, but as part of an ongoing review of the business.
“Obviously I would like to see these jobs retained in Bridge of Allan and have offered to work with the company to see if there are any solutions to be found.”
A spokesperson for Guala Closures UCP said: “We will follow due process, working through the detail in the coming weeks and keep employees informed throughout.”
When Guala Closures bought UCP in December 2018, it pointed to UCP revenues of £44m and an operating profit £2.9m. The purchase, it said, would enable an annual £700,000 cut in costs through ‘synergies’.
A press release stated: “The group will now be able to consolidate its partnerships with the spirits multinationals that operate in Scotland and with whisky producers in particular, which represent one of the most important segments in the spirits market.
“The transaction will also speed up the process launched by the Group in 2018 to reorganise its industrial infrastructure with a view to achieving better production efficiency.”
The redundancies will only affect the lowest-paid machine operators