A request for a Parliamentary debate on Butler and Tanner's (B&T) closure has been thrown out after the Speaker of the House deemed it not "appropriate for discussion".

I would have thought it was a highly appropriate topic for debate. It seems that rich businessment can tap into the assets of the country to pay for their own errors. In my view the ninety day consultation process has not been followed therefore it would be good practise to have a law whereby anyone bypassing this period who had other companies still trading would have to to pay monies owed from their own assets. This would make these fat-cats think twice before inflicting on others the kind of treatment my workmates and myself have had to endure. I notice that old quotes from Mr Dolan are now being used as he does not seem to have the courage to show his face and explain his behaviour to the press. The Union (whom "Montgomery" Dolan blames for the demise of the company") have not hesitated to defend their position in public at all times!

Judging by the above comments from Mike Dolan, are PrintWeek readers to assume that administrators have been appointed to Butler & Tanner Printers Limited ? If so, just for the public record, who are they ???

Suggested reading http://www.thebookseller.com/news/57764-printing-chaos-after-bt-collapse.html

wheres my money dolan?????

Hi to the staff @ B&T I'm so sorry for what you must be going through. I've been through it many times before. I'd just like to know how can someone buy a 30million pound business for £160,000 from the administators, and how Mike Dolan has said the forward loading for April was £2 million but only £250,000 worth of work was produced, that's only £625 worth of work per employee over the month. We're a tiny firm in comparison but we take £220,000 per month and there's only 5 of us here.

Well done Mike!

Julie the work was being despatched to other companies and being charged at a premium rate to B&T to make us suffer bigger loses. Why would the chairman do this? we all knew this was happening but could do sod all about it, because how do you approach a man like Dolan?

v true ian.....some other companies were charging up to 3 times the standard rates to print or bind b&ts work and dolan was happy to pay it purely to fast track us into administration(in my opinion),knowing they would just be another creditor....the police are coming mike!!!!

The union screwed you over and you all jumped on the wagon. The membership has as much to do with B&T's demise as anyone else. From the outside work was moved to sub contractors to try and safeguard the clients interests, with a pending dispute and no sign of sense being shown, why would a client or management at B&T risk orders being made hostage. As this dispute was so public it is also likely client cancelled the orders in order to safeguard themselves, why would anyone place business with a troubled company. It also appears there was an amount of leaning on chapel members, comments made over the week in this blog show this, how many were intimidated into voting for action? The membership were also probably advised by the branch that the management was bluffing, but mis calcualted on the commercial position of the business, or were saving the face of the union. The actions of dispute show an unwillingness of the chapel to accept commercial change necessary for investment to be made and thinning out of the cost base that were needed to make the company competitive in a fierce market. Dolan may not have handled this transition effectively but the needs of the business would still be the same. Mother Theresa would still have had the same problem. Cradley Print died for the same reasons. Instead of blaming the 'the fat cats', look closer to home. The fat cats are fat because they know how to make a business work, why throw good investment at a business that refuses to change. If the comments made are correct and a £30m business is bought for £160k, there is a reason and this has more to do with the state of the company and debt it is carrying, turnover means nothing, Quebecor at Corby were more worthy of debate, unlike B&T they tried to help the business, and their management were as much in the dark as shop floor. At least they went down trying.

haha yes ok fennel the union screwed us over. i've got a spot going at glastonbury in the comedy tent, you'd go down a treat.

Jon the shop floor workers, through the union, offered Mr Dolan a 5% wage cut (on top of a previous 8% wage cut) changes to hours, overtime payments, downmanning, flexible staffing and co-operation with the instalation of new management systems. The deal fell apart because Mr Dolan insisted we sign draconian commercial contracts inappropriate to a manufacturing operation. Instead of the usual disciplinary code i.e. verbal then written warnings and the sack we could have been sued for mistakes made during the manufacturing process. Unite has asked Mr Dolan to provide evidence of members being "leant on", as he has claimed, so far this evidence has NOT appeared. We were very aware of the needs of the business but in my opinion there was no will on Mike Dolans part to procure a settlement and he may have had some other reason for forcing it into liquidation whilst holding on to unpaid pension contributions etc. The sub text is that, i believe, Mr Dolan feels that if he flings enough muck in the unions direction he can save his own tarnished reputation. As for going public - it seemed it was ok for Mr D to use bullying tactics and insulting communications to our members but not for us to let the world know about it!

oi fennel you on dolans books as well?

who are you fennel .dolans puppet in my opinion who talks crap

Hi, I work in a print factory (shop-floor, non-management, non-MPI) and, like a nosey parker, I have been following this article with interest since Thursday (pre-closure). These are my independent comments on a public forum. What happened to B&T was tragic and will be felt thoughout the publishing industy in this country. The direct employees, some sub-contractors (post- and possibly pre-print) and publishers in Britain will bear losses to a greater and lesser extent. This includes people from all walks of life, doing many different jobs. Obviously, the direct employees have suffered more than anyone, and they have my sympathies. I understand this is by no means the first large employer in this area to close in recent years which is bound to impact the local economy and employment market. Others, probably further afield, will benefit. The clause in the employees' proposed new contracts regarding individuals being sued for losses incurred by their personal errors sounds both alien and severe to me, but I wonder if it would ever have been effected? And would it stand up in a law court? It was obviously never tested, and nobody ever had a chance to try and find ways to live with the other detrimental conditions of the new contract. Everyone should know that the print industry in this country is extremely competitive right now and we are competing on an international stage. For better or worse, the world is going global by way of improving communications and technologies. If you are like me, then you'll want to stay in the game - it gets in your blood and it's not a bad way to spend a working day. At the moment, it's high tension drama and those who keep their heads will have the best chance of survivng and then prospering. I truly feel for the individuals and families affected by this closure and I dread to imagine what you are all going through. This brings me to the main point of my commentary: WHY DIDN'T YOU SIGN THE DAMNED CONTRACT?