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UK: Workers at Manchester's famous Boddingtons brewery have voted for a 48-hour strike to keep the plant open and its beer as the cream of the city. Actor Bruce Jones, better known as Coronation Street's Les Battersby, joined Transport and General Workers' Union, the Campaign for Real Ale and Manchester City Council in the latest stage of the Save Boddingtons campaign, Birmingham Post revealed on October 27.

90% of workers at the Strangeways Brewery voted for strike action next week and an overtime ban. The stoppage will begin from 10pm on Monday, November 1, with further walk-outs planned if Boddingtons owner, the Belgian brewing company Interbrew, refuses to halt its closure plans. A delegation from the city will also attend a convention in Brussels later this week to lobby Interbrew's management. Mr Jones said at a press conference at the town hall: "I'm here to support Boddington's Brewery. Everyone in Manchester was weaned on Boddies beer.

"Every man in Manchester, when you left school and started drinking, you were taken out for a pint of Boddies. "They are going to take one of the most famous breweries away from us." T&G regional organiser Franny Joyce said: "There's no disguising the anger and sense of betrayal at the brewery. "It is the workforce who have developed this brand and the success of this brewery and they now face their jobs being taken away while the owners cry crocodile tears,"

"If this is the cream of Manchester these are the cream of brewery workers but they're being used as 'whipping boys' by a company who just cynically want to sell the brewery and its land for redevelopment." Andrew Dodgshon, a spokesman for the T&G said he was pleased with the united front presented by workers, Manchester Council and Camra. He said: "This is not just about the workforce who are opposing these plans, but the whole of the local community, the trade unions, consumers, Camra and Manchester council who have thrown its weight behind the campaign."

Mr Dodgshon added that Interbrew now faced a consumer backlash if it pressed ahead with its plans. He said: "We have had a lot of feedback from people angry about this decision, and our save Boddingtons website has had more than 100,000 hits. "Many people are saying that if they close Strangeways then they are going to stop drinking Stella Artois. "So this decision will be bad for Boddingtons and Inter-brew's other brands as well."

Manchester City Council representatives, including leader Richard Leese, also lent their weight to the campaign by underlining the historic links between Boddingtons and the city. Mr Dodgshon branded the move to Wales as cynical. "They will be keeping cask production, which only makes up ten per cent at the Hydes Brewery in Manchester, so they can still say it is the cream of Manchester. "Since the last threat of closure in 2002, the Boddingtons brand has grown by four per cent, contributing to £16.5 million profits."

Interbrew confirmed last month that it plans to shut the Strangeways site next February. The company blamed the decision on poor sales.


30 October, 2004