UNITE the union has reported an employment agency and launched legal battle against Oscar Mayer amid ongoing strike action.

The Job&Talent employment agency has been reported to the Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate for allegedly advertising for temporary staff to work at Oscar Mayer’s Wrexham ready meal factory, during fire and rehire strikes

More than 500 Oscar Mayer workers at the Wrexham Industrial Estate site began all out strikes in September over the company’s plans to fire and rehire them in order to reduce wages by up to £3,000 a year. 

The Oscar Mayer site in Wrexham.The Oscar Mayer site in Wrexham. (Image: Google Street View)

Before the strike began, Unite warned Job&Talent, which is a regular supplier of temporary staff to Oscar Mayer, that it is unlawful to provide labour to replace striking workers.

Despite this, Job&Talent sent text messages to previous job applicants to the factory after industrial action began saying work was available, Unite claims.

Unite has now written to the Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate, which is part of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, calling on it to investigate job&talent.

Job&Talent said it is "confident that we fully comply with all local regulations and requirements in this matter", and Oscar Mayer "refute" the claims made by the union.

Wrexham MP, Andrew Ranger, said: "This would clearly be a breach of the regulations as it is not permitted to use temporary staff to replace workers who are currently taking part in industrial action.

"I would urge Oscar Mayer negotiate with their workers and their representatives at Unite and come to a mutually satisfactory, fair and ethical agreement for both the business and their workers.

"I remain supportive to the workers who are currently fighting against Fire and Rehire and urge Oscar Mayer not to be one of the last businesses to use this before Labour’s Employment Rights Bill comes into effect."

The picket line at Oscar Mayer.The picket line at Oscar Mayer. (Image: UGC)

Unite has also launched a multi-million pound legal case against the company. Unite said it will mount a series of unfair dismissal cases (where workers have been dismissed) and protective awards cases on behalf of all its members for a failure to correctly consult with the workforce, prior to fire and rehiring them. The protective awards claim alone could be worth in excess of £3 million.

Oscar Mayer has maintained throughout that all employment regulations have been adhered to, and described Unite's legal action as "spurious".

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “It is no surprise that Oscar Mayer, which is happy to use fire and rehire against its workforce, would be working with an employment agency that appears to have no qualms about disregarding legislation preventing strike breaking.

“Our members are absolutely rock solid. The only way this dispute will end is if fire and rehire is taken off the table. Unite will support our members for as long as it takes.

"We are putting Oscar Mayer on notice that no stone will be left unturned, be it industrially, legally or politically in the defence of our members.”

Unite said that rather than drop its fire and rehire plans and negotiate with the union, Oscar Mayer is using agency staff to try and force through plans to remove some paid breaks, reduce other breaks and eradicate any enhanced payments and days off in lieu for working bank holidays.

The workers, many of whom speak English as a second language, are being threatened with dismissal without redundancy pay or compensation if they refuse to agree to the detrimental terms by signing new contracts, Unite said.

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Unite regional officer Jono Davies said: “Oscar Mayer cannot continue to bury its head in the sand. Its behaviour is ruining its reputation with the supermarkets and is becoming increasingly damaging to the company. It must scrap its fire and rehire talks and re-engage with Unite to find a solution that is acceptable to its workforce.”

Oscar Mayer is one of the UK’s major ready meal manufacturers and supplies large quantities of its products to Tesco, ASDA, Greggs, Aldi, Waitrose, Sainsbury’s and the Co-op.

A Job&Talent spokesperson said: "We are aware of the ongoing worker strike at the Wrexham facility of our client, Oscar Mayer.

"Job&Talent has always committed to prioritising the rights and welfare of our workers. We take this situation seriously and we are confident that we fully comply with all local regulations and requirements in this matter.

"Our team will continue to have open dialogue with all parties involved and do our very best to provide the necessary support and assistance to facilitate a swift resolution."

A spokesperson for Oscar Mayer said: “We remain disappointed by Unite’s decision to undertake industrial action and by their public claims to date, which have been factually inaccurate. We have engaged fully and constructively with our colleagues and their representatives throughout this process and the majority of our employees have signed the new terms.

"At all times we have complied fully with all relevant regulations, continue to do so, and will defend our approach in the strongest terms should Unite pursue this spurious legal action.

“The changes we have made have not been made lightly but are absolutely necessary to ensure a long-term sustainable business and protect the jobs we provide in the local community. These measures also put us in line with the majority of other businesses in our sector and similar companies in the local area. We continue to engage with our colleagues.”

Regarding Job&Talent being reported to the Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate, Oscar Mayer said: "We entirely refute the claims made by Unite. Throughout this process we have complied fully with all relevant regulations and continue to do so.”