E tū; Saturday event rallying point for public over Cadbury

E tū has welcomed a community initiative to rally support for saving Dunedin’s Cadbury factory and the jobs of its workers.

Neville Donaldson, E tū’s National Industry Strategy Director (Food) says the rally planned for Saturday will be a chance for the public to make its feelings known about the proposal by Mondelez International to close the plant.

He says it will also be a rallying point for Cadbury workers, and others in Dunedin who have watched as manufacturing jobs have headed out of town or businesses have been shut down.

“To date the community has not had a forum to express its support for Cadbury and this will be the perfect opportunity.

“If people care about Cadbury, they should seize this chance to make their voices heard, and express their anger and frustration at Mondelez for this misguided proposal,” says Neville.

“We have been in talks with Mondelez who are supposed to genuinely consult over their proposal. However, to date they have shown little interest in working through the issues or any concerns about the effect on staff.

“A strong show of opposition on Saturday to its plans for Cadbury may persuade them it’s time to take the consultation process seriously and reconsider.”

Neville says E tū will do everything possible to see a change of plan by Mondelez and this action will help.