WORKERS at Thwaites have been told they face losing their jobs if they fail to agree to new conditions.

The brewers have written to all 350 employees after six months of negotiations over the new working conditions have failed to bring an agreement.

Thwaites managing director Paul Baker met with union representatives last week over the firm's new site agreement which it wants all employees to sign.

The agreement covers areas such as working hours and bank holiday working but was rejected by unions at a mass meeting in June.

Now Thwaites has written to all staff saying that unless they sign, the future of the company - and jobs - could be at stake.

In the letter, the brewery says the agreement is vital for the future of the company.

"It is not an overstatement to say that unless we can introduce greater efficiency and flexibility in our working arrangements production at Star Brewery will increasingly become non-competitive," said Mr Baker.

"The end result would be that, like many other regional brewers, production would cease to be a part of the business.

"This is not a situation which the board, and I am sure the majority of our employees, tenants and customers, wants to contemplate."

Thwaites says if employees do not sign the contract "the company will have to give thought to whether it can continue to employ those people". The unions say they have a number of objections to the new site agreement, including what they say is being being asked to work without pay on occasions.

"In the view of the union representatives the new site agreement is ill-conceived, could do more harm than good and does not address the real reasons for the company's inefficiency - bad management," said a joint statement issued by the unions.

The statement also said that union representatives felt they could not take the matter any further and that it was now up to employees to make up their own minds over the agreement.

A deadline of August 6 has been set by the company for employees to respond to the letter.

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