THE GMB union has laid down an emergency motion at the Labour Party Conference in Manchester today warning of a fast emerging crisis in the fish and food manufacturing sector.

The union's members have been hit by a series of food factory closures in the Humber region including Birds Eye at Grimsby last year when 620 jobs went and it is also is worried about possible job losses at the Birds Eye fish factory in Hull which was recently taken over by Permira, the private equity group. The GMB Union has called for urgent talks with Birds Eye bosses to allay the fears of the workforce because it claims Permira has a history of asset stripping, but so far no announcement has been made.

There are also fears that rising cost pressures from higher energy and fuel costs and the increase in the minimum wage next month could lead to more job losses in fish process.

Northern Foods is laying off workers and although not fish, Nestle is shedding 650 jobs at its chocolate factory at York but the same cost pressures that affect fish processing are partly to blame.

The GMB Union says: "These decisions are made as part of global plans, based on a mixture of lower wage costs and lack of investment in UK plant, buildings and technology. These companies and sites are the major employers in these areas, with loyal, skilled workforces and good pay and conditions. These announcements will inevitably have serious implications on both the workforce and the local communities, where there is very little alternative skilled employment. "

The union is demanding that the Labour Conference calls on the Government to meet with the food and fish manufacturers and the unions to develop a strategy for investment in order to maintain food manufacturing in the UK. It also wants regional bodies set up to help workers who have been laid off or who are likely to be laid off.

www.fishupdate.com is published by Special Publications. Special Publications also publish FISHupdate magazine, Fish Farmer, the Fish Industry Yearbook, the Scottish Seafood Processors Federation Diary, the Fish Farmer Handbook and a range of wallplanners.

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