A ROW flared yesterday between embattled supermarket giant William Morrison and its unions about distribution-centre cuts and looming strike action - while speculation hardened that B&Q is to lay off hundreds of staff this week.
A spokesman for Morrison, which became Britain's fourth-biggest supermarket group when it took over Safeway in March 2004, said the group was "perplexed" that unions had refused the offer for talks on a restructuring of the merged distribution networ
k.
The spokesman said: "Regrettably, the unions have refused our offers to talk, even though our doors remain open. We have invited them and we would have thought it was in the best interests of their members to talk."
The three unions involved in the dispute are the Transport & General Workers Union, the GMB and Usdaw.
However, Brian Revell, national organiser for the TGWU, hit back: "They [Morrison's management, led by 73-year-old Sir Ken Morrison] are not perplexed at all.
"They are trying to dictate how the unions act [in talks] and Morrison have got away with it for too long.
"We have said we want national bargaining, but we also want local shop stewards present to ensure popular representation but they have refused this. They also won't meet all the unions together."
Morrison currently has seven distribution centres covering its UK operations, and it is thought its review has decided at least one can close with accompanying cost savings. It also has eight third-party-run distribution centres.
It was reported at the weekend that a statement from management to its 7,000 distribution staff last Thursday said overcapacity had been found in an internal review of the network.
It has led the unions to say strike action is overwhelmingly likely - a prospect that will horrify Morrison, given its shaky City standing following four profit warnings since it took over Safeway.
The Morrison spokesman said yesterday: "We have divested 180 stores [following the takeover], and were converting four Safeways a week to the Morrison format
"By the end of November, we will have one set of 360 stores to service and clearly the distribution network is the next thing to look at.
"We hope to share the results of our review in a number of weeks."
Meanwhile, it is understood that DIY chain B&Q will announce nearly one in three head office jobs will be cut this week - 400 redundancies in all.
