Bernard Matthews staff face lay-offs

Around 130 workers at a Bernard Matthews site are to be temporarily laid off following the recent bird flu outbreak.

The Transport and General Workers Union said that the company had confirmed that the workers at the Norfolk site would be stood down on Tuesday for 20 days.

The union said the workers would be entitled to some statutory payments and said that Bernard Matthews had agreed to grant a one-off payment of £100 to each worker.

However, the TGWU said that the company was preparing to lay off up to a total of 500 workers in the next few weeks.

The union said that the UK government should provide compensation to the industry that has suffered detriment from the impact on sales following the bird flu outbreak, in a similar way that the Spanish and Italian governments did following outbreaks of the deadly H5N1 virus.

The union said that any compensation agreed should include direct payments to workers adversely affected.

Chris Kaufman, T&G National Secretary said: "Industry will need the full backing of its government as it faces a challenging period. The government should also assist the workforce by ensuring that the benefits they are entitled to are processed without delay."

Miles Hubbard, T&G regional industrial organiser, said: "The workforce has displayed real resilience during the last couple of difficult weeks and is determined to work for a positive future for the company. The union is determined to do everything it can to defend our members' interests."

The H5N1 virus was discovered at a Bernard Matthews turkey farm in Holton, Suffolk earlier this month. Nearly 160,000 birds were culled as a result of the outbreak.

(KMcA)