Dinner staff at five Blackpool primary schools rally against 'callous' 20% pay cuts and zero-hours contracts

Dinner staff at five Blackpool primary schools have rallied against ‘callous’ wage cuts leaving them £300 worse off per month - while bosses receive a 'bumper payout' of £138,000.
Hawes Side, Roseacre, Moor Park, Thames and Norbreck schoolsHawes Side, Roseacre, Moor Park, Thames and Norbreck schools
Hawes Side, Roseacre, Moor Park, Thames and Norbreck schools

Catering teams employed by Dolce Ltd, which provides hot meals to Hawes Side, Roseacre, Moor Park, Thames and Norbreck schools, are facing 20 per cent wage and hours cuts, and could be placed on zero-hours contracts.

The company said the coronavirus pandemic was to blame for the cuts.

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They said: “Uptake of school dinners has dropped nationally by around 20 per cent since the return from lockdown. Whilst we are expecting this to return to normal once the threat of Covid-19 passes and confidence returns, we have had to temporarily reduce staff hours like most other caterers. Due to Covid-19 restrictions we have also had to switch to disposables, reducing the wash up.

“Like most other caterers our revenue comes solely from selling meals and we are not subsided by the school budget."

But UNISON said that many head teachers are not reducing their contracts with or payments to the company.

And while the cuts would leave some staff more than £300 worse off each month, which they say would leave them struggling to put food on their own tables, company bosses have profited.

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Keith Bradley, UNISON North West’s schools organiser, said: “School catering staff have put themselves at risk to ensure that schoolchildren remain well-fed throughout the pandemic. It is outrageous that Dolce would reward them by imposing a significant cut to hours and pay at short notice and without meaningful consultation.

“Whilst Dolce have cited reduction in demand for school meals and cuts to funding as the justification for their callous cuts, we understand that the company has fully funded contracts with many schools.

“According to Dolce’s recent accounts, they paid a whopping £138,000 in dividends to their owners. As the company is family-owned, these bumper payments all went to one family. All whilst proposing this callous cut to the income of the families pay cuts of 20% for the front-line staff who serve children their school meals.”

The union has written to the head teachers of the affected schools to express its concern.

All five Blackpool schools were approached for comment.

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