Brown Brothers awarded ‘Golden Toilet’ for bathroom break policy

[meegbear]

British labor union Unite has slammed Scotland-based meat processing firm Brown Brothers, a supplier to Tesco, the United Kingdom’s largest retailer, for requiring assembly line staff to clock out before taking bathroom breaks.

Staff are also expected to provide medical evidence to be exempted from the rule, raising concerns that women, especially those who are pregnant or menstruating, are unfairly impacted.

“(Tesco) pick their suppliers and sign up to ethical codes, we think they should intervene and stop it,” a Unite spokesman said.

The retailer does not plan to take action. “We take the issue of labor standards very seriously,” Tesco said in a statement, “and require all our suppliers to meet strict independent audited criteria.”

“We have to clock out, take off our wellies, overalls and hairnets, we have to run up stairs, have to come back in get dressed again,” one employee told the BBC. The anonymous woman also said that the office staff and managers were exempt from the rule.

“They have already been paid to manage their own lavatorial affairs,” countered Brown Brothers managing director Martin Godfrey, citing a union pay deal geared towards establishing set times for restroom breaks.

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http://rawstory.com/news08/2008/06/29/brown-brothers-awarded-golden-toilet-for-bathroom-break-policy/