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Strike talks are escalating at an AB InBev brewery in the UK over whether a former employee was fired for “raising health and safety concerns.”
Here’s the deal…
Paul Morley, a former employee and GMB union representative at the AB InBev brewery in Preston, was dismissed after questioning health and safety policy…an action that Shaun Buckley, GMB regional organizer is calling “a disgrace”.
GMB stated that Morley was dismissed for claiming that there had been insufficient assessment into the fatigue caused by a new initiative designed to speed up the brewing process.
Paul Morley has been sacked simply for trying to look after the wellbeing of his colleagues,” Buckley added. “GMB understands management may want to streamline processes – all we ask is they follow the appropriate health and safety assessments in doing so.”
Responding to an inquiry by the Drinks Business a company spokesperson adressed AB InBev’s position…
“As a responsible brewer and business, health and safety is our number one priority. While we can’t go into detail on individual or ongoing employee cases, we want to emphasize that the employee in question was not dismissed for raising health and safety concerns.”
“We take our commitment to health and safety seriously and ensure that all processes adhere to our high standards, as well as to legal requirements. The safety of our processes has been confirmed using a certified assessment tool from the UK body, the Health & Safety Executive (HSE).”
“As part of our focus on the health, safety and wellbeing of our colleagues, we will continue to have a dialogue with trade union representatives”
But it remains to be seen what will be the outcome of that “dialogue.” The union has already held a vote on the strike action and the results are expected to be announced this week.
AB InBev’s been in the news a lot lately…
They recently announced their Q2 earnings and their three global flagships, Budweiser, Stella Artois and Corona, were up a combined 9.1%. At the same time their US fortunes continue to decline.
