| Union blamed for print job losses |
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| Written by Adrie van der Luijt | |
| Monday, 28 April 2008 | |
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Butler & Tanner, one of Europe’s leading printers, will go into receivership with the loss of 287 jobs.
Butler & Tanner was based in Frome, Somerset, and had won awards for the production values of its books, magazines and museum catalogues, which included best-sellers by Jamie Oliver and Nigella Lawson. The 150-year old firm had annual sales of £35 million and also produced annual reports for blue chip clients including Shell, Marks & Spencer and Vodafone. Miscalculation The firm’s parent company, private equity investors Media & Print Investments Plc (MPI), told the firm’s workforce by letter on Saturday that the company had been closed and was going into receivership. The letter warned them that “strict security” had been imposed at the site, which did not deter dozens of shocked employees from turning up at the gates to await further news. Around two-thirds of employees were members of union Unite, which said it had been unaware of the closure plans when it was in negotiations with Butler and Tanner at reconciliation service ACAS in Bristol on Friday. MPI, which bought Butler & Tanner for an undisclosed sum last year, said that it had decided to withdraw finances after Unite issued a strike warning in a dispute over working practices and cost-savings. MPI chairman Mike Dolan blamed Unite’s “miscalculation” for the loss of jobs, but said that shareholders had been unwilling to “pour good money down what they consider to be a drain”. He added, “The union has shown utter contempt for its own members and Butler & Tanner by unnecessarily publicising their strike threat in a crass attempt to exert pressure on the company. Legal action He said that this was “an act of wilful economic vandalism” which frightened off too many of the printing firm’s customers, suppliers and financiers. Nolan added that MPI shareholders would have been happy to fund the company through what is traditionally a quiet time of year in printing if Unite had lifted the threat of industrial action. The 287 workers made redundant are now planning to take legal action to get their wages and pension contributions paid. The union’s national officer Ann Field said, “Unite will be demanding recompense in full from the perpetrators of this despicable act sacrificing people's jobs and livelihoods. Mike Dolan and former boss Andrew Hillman should be called to account for what they have done to the workers' jobs, their pensions and their community." Local speculation focuses on allegations that Nolan plans to cash in on the printing plant's size and location to cash in on the town's recent housing boom and that the union played straight into his hands by announcing a strike for this week. MPI said that the closure of Butler & Tanner would have no impact on its other trading firms, which include BAS Printers, Borcombe SP, Goodman Baylis and Friary Press. Related articles
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