WORKERS at Garnett's fear more jobs could go due to a proposed change in shift patterns.

The Otley paper specialist last week sent a letter to employees announcing it would be altering its operating hours.

A meeting between management and a staff consultation committee has now taken place, and parts of the business will change from three to two shifts next week.

But the consultation is due to run for 13 weeks, at the end of which Garnett's says "the company will change its current production operating hours in all shift areas except for paper coating."

The letter also tells workers their "hours of work will change and...you have the opportunity to consider various options including voluntary redundancy."

One employee, who asked not to be named, claims the change will result in pay cuts and that management wants five people to take redundancy.

But Garnett's Managing Director Cliff Barry insists that is not the case.

He said: "Nothing has changed from last July. This is exactly what we said would happen then.

"Unfortunately the law doesn't allow us to do things in a straightforward way, there's a series of procedures we have to follow and this is just the next stage.

"All we've done is exactly what we've been advised to do, kept people informed and written them a letter.

"We don't make paper here any more so we have to change how we process materials.

"We no longer need to work on a three shift basis through the entire business, we need two shifts in some areas, three in some and four in others.

"So we're adjusting. We had to give a shift change notice to every employee and we've thought 'what is a reasonable period of time to give people to think about this and get it right?'

"We've gone for 13 weeks and, although we'll be starting to change to two shifts next week, during those 13 weeks people will be paid exactly the same as they were before."

The Garnett's employee, however, claims the change has seriously dented staff morale.

He said: "They want voluntary redundancies, somebody mentioned five.

"And we'll be taking a pay cut, because we won't be working nights and things. Everybody, apart from the guys who work on the coatings machines, will be affected.

"If they're moving from three shifts to two, machines will just be sitting idle.

"Everyone's just thinking 'that's it, the place is finished'. We're just going in every week and collecting our wages, but we can't see a future for the place."

lTwenty two workers lost their jobs last October, some of whom were told they'd have to wait up to six months to receive all of their redundancy pay.