Danish Crown – pork division rejects union proposal
A majority of employees in Danish Crown’s pork division have rejected the proposal presented by the slaughterhouse workers’ trade union representatives two weeks ago.
The proposal aimed to re-establish some of the Danish production of pigs for slaughter which in recent years has quit Denmark – thereby safeguarding jobs in the Danish slaughterhouse industry. However, after the proposal was voted down by slaughterhouse workers in Danish Crown, it now raises the prospect of saying goodbye to more Danish workplaces instead.
”As union representatives, we were well aware that we were embarking on a completely new course of action by proposing that we, the employees, should invest in our own workplaces. However, we were doing so because we truly hoped that our colleagues would support this initiative to safeguard our jobs,” says Lars Mose, Chairman of the committee of union representatives and workplace union representative at the slaughterhouse in Horsens.
During the past week, both Jesper Friis, CEO of DC Pork, and owner representatives Erik Bredholt and Asger Krogsgaard, Chairman and Vice-chairman, respectively, of Danish Crown’s Board of Directors, have attended meetings with DC Pork’s approx. 6,000 slaughterhouse workers.
”Of course, some people have been sceptical, but in my view we had a constructive dialogue and saw a desire to find solutions to the issues,” says Jesper Friis.
Nevertheless, despite the constructive discussions, a majority of employees decided to vote no to the proposal, leaving a sense of disappointment among Danish Crown’s owners.
”In principle, it is not for the employees to become involved in pig production. But the number of pigs for slaughter produced in Denmark bears little relation to the number of workplaces in the country, and therefore it is obviously a pity that the vote has been unsuccessful,” says Chairman of Danish Crown’s Board of Directors Erik Bredholt.
In the coming months, Danish Crown will decide how it can best match capacity with the number of pigs for slaughter which are being and will be slaughtered in Denmark.
Source: Danish Crown
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