Cheese company take on relief staff
Management criticised for 'wholesale lack of vision'
(From The Orcadian dated January 24, 2002)

The Orkney Cheese Company - who laid off seven workers just before Christmas last year - have taken on a relief worker to cover during holiday periods.

The new worker is being employed through the Orkney Business Ring, which provides relief staff, for three-week stints, packing cheese into cardboard boxes.

Workers' representative, Mr John Foulis, said: "There's not enough staff. Certainly it's one of those curious things - the money they are paying him - it's no cheaper than employing people."

Staff, he said, were entitled to six weeks' holiday every year, but were expected to take their holidays one at a time. There are not enough weeks in the year, Mr Foulis explained.

Prior to the move to the new purpose-built factory premises at Hatston, an employee at the cheese factory averaged 11 years of service, compared with the "industry norm" of two years in Scotland, he continued.

"They seem to be prepared to put up with the 'industry norm' rather than what we used to be, the 'industry abnorm'."

Mr Foulis also accuses management of a wholesale lack of vision and the working atmosphere as terrible. Staff have hinted that there is a lack of management.

"The ordinary farmer has no idea what is going on," he concluded.

Seven workers accepted voluntary redundancy from the award-wnning cheese factory, leaving 26 employees.

Orkney Cheese chairman, Mr George Eunson, admitted the factory was currently employing a worker through the Orkney Business Ring as and when required.

He said it had been policy to cut staff down to a minimum and employ relief workers to cover holiday periods.

"It is just to cover holiday relief. That was the policy, to cut the staff down to a minimum and employ casual, relief workers to cover holiday periods. This is not an unusual thing for businesses to do especially in the dairy business where the margin is so tight."

He said he would be surprised if staff morale was low among the remaining staff, as steps had been taken to alleviate that.

"We took steps to make the jobs left secure, if we had not taken those steps then none of the jobs would have been secure."

As far as comments about farmers being left in the dark, Mr Eunson said that was "a lot of rubbish".

"There is a newsletter that goes out every month. They were all shown around the creamery just before Christmas. We had two open nights for members and families and staff, only one member was not represented."

The board are planning a farm assured course and producers' meeting on February 14.

lorraine.shearer@orcadian.co.uk