Unite the Union members at Jacobs Douwe Egberts (JDE) have voted overwhelmingly in favor of an agreement that ends JDE’s bid to ‘fire and rehire’ nearly 300 workers employed at JDE Banbury (UK). The agreement includes improvements in basic rates of pay and shift premiums. It also safeguards other terms and conditions of employment.
- Unite announced on August 4, 2021 that its JDE members had voted by 81 percent on a 93 percent member turnout to accept the deal which was reached after three weeks of intensive negotiations with JDE management
- This positive outcome follows months of industrial actions, which received widespread community and political support in the UK
- During the course of the dispute, many IUF affiliates wrote to JDE management calling on the company to withdraw the fire and rehire notifications to allow constructive negotiations to take place between JDE and Unite over terms and conditions of employment. IUF affiliates also sent solidarity support messages to Unite and its JDE members
- The IUF and Unite thank IUF affiliates for their immense solidarity and support
Unite National Officer Joe Clarke said, “This outcome is a result of an intense, high-profile industrial action and leverage campaign supported by the membership of Unite, the trade union movement, including IUF affiliates, and the community…There is now an opportunity to rebuild relationships with the management in the months and years ahead.”