CADBURY'S PROFITS SOAR - BUT WORKERS GET FIRED

While Cadbury are all set to fire 145 workers at its Dunedin factory, the confectionary corporate recorded a 46 percent rise in first half profits. It's profits for the first half of the year rose to £223million, or approximately $700 million.

Chief Executive Todd Stitzer told the media last month: "No matter how bleak economies look, people always go for treats and that's why we have seen no real slowdown in the first half and we see confectionery as a robust category in difficult economic conditions,"

Economic analysts commented that Cadbury had turned in a 'strong performance'.

Last year Cadbury announced it was going to cut 7,500 jobs worldwide.

While Cadbury's Australian PR people were trying to 'sell' job losses in this country (including some corporate propaganda masquerading as television and radio 'interviews'), they were also announcing redundancies in Australia.

Workers at its Hobart factory were told that 160 of them would be looking for new jobs come 2009. The Hobart factory presently has a total workforce of some 700 people.

Other jobs are to go in Victoria as well.

Anne Urqhart from the Manufacturing Workers Union says the effect of the job losses will be felt across all of Tasmania.

' It will create huge economic problems for Tasmania without that level and capacity of income going back into the community."

Cadbury in Dunedin have been the recipients of some generous rates relief from the Dunedin City Council. It's proved to be nothing more than corporate welfare - all the workers have received is low wages and redundancy slips.

The reaction of the local unions - following the CTU line of not 'embarrassing' the Labour Government - has been less than impressive.

Service and Food Workers Union southern region secretary Campbell Duignan, a man who would clearly rival David Brent for ineptness, said that there appeared to be ' some acceptance' of the job losses. Unless he had talked to the entire workforce then Duignan was just making this up.

Duignan even found something positive in the fact that the job losses would not happen for a few months.

'It certainly could be worse,' said Duignan, who is on salary of over $60,000 per year.

Cadbury probably think that Duignan is a pleasure to work with.