UNION bosses at Terry's Suchard in York today sought to calm fears that workers' hours could be cut.

Staff, most of them mothers, on the Waifa production line have been enraged at a proposal put to them on Thursday.

The women claim that most of them work 25 hours a week but a review of working patterns could mean that they are forced either to work 15 hours a week or full-time.

Because many of them have children they cannot afford to lose 10 hours a week, nor will they be able to look after their children if they worked full-time.

A single mother who works on the 20-person morning shift and asked to remain anonymous, said she organised her life so that she could leave at noon to pick up her seven-year-old daughter from school. She already paid £40 a week on a childcare scheme. "What message is this giving to women who want to combine being a mum with working?" she asked.

But chief shop steward Vic Botterill said: "Orders for Waifa are always slack at this time of year and management asked if anyone wanted to go full-time or take a few shifts off. But nobody is forced to do anything. I will be meeting management soon to work out alternatives for people."

Gill Mould, press officer for Terry's, said: "No decision has been made and the talks are still wide open. We are reviewing working patterns as we continually do at the factory.

"There are several options such as full-time evening shifts or working on another line, but I stress that this review is very much in its infancy. No decision has been made and our main concern is to reach an amicable solution for everyone concerned."

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