A COMPANY which is to axe up to 850 workers nationwide has been named as an Employer of the Year.

Hygrade Foods, which is closing three factories, including the one in Westmeade Lane, Chippenham, pictured right, also took the Skills4life Training title.

The awards were presented at the annual Skills4business awards, open to all firms and employees in Wiltshire, on Friday.

Hugh Kirkbride, from the Transport and General Workers Union said: "The Chippenham factory wins awards because it performs very well and is often at the top of the group on all counts. That is why it is such a shame that it's closing.

"The awards only look at measurable performance, they don't take into account the way workers have been treated over the last few months, which has been pretty shabby."

After the awards Jeff Steer, managing director of Hygrade's parent company Tulip, said: "As a direct result of its commitment to training and its investment in its employees, Hygrade's employees will be better equipped in their search for jobs should the factories eventually close.

"With all the bad press Hygrade has been receiving following the announcement of its proposals to close three sites, it is perhaps easy to forget its achievements."

A protest is taking place in Chippenham tomorrow morning, where Hygrade workers and their families will be marching to try and persuade the company to give them an improved redundancy offer.

Two samba bands, Oi Sambista! from Devizes and the Calnevalistas, from Calne, are joining in to help the protest go with a swing.

Mr Kirkbride said: "We know there is little hope of reversing the company's closure decision in the current business climate, but the company could do a damn sight more for our communities by working with the trade unions to find ways of lessening the blow."

In Denmark, Hygrade's parent company negotiated a social plan with the unions, which helped offset the pain of two factory closures there, and the unions in the UK want to see the same deal for British workers.

North Wiltshire MP, James Gray has written to the Transport and General Workers Union expressing his support for the march.

He said: "It is important that the Danish company who now own Tulip should be made to realise that they owe it to workers in this country to provide proper, indeed generous, redundancy terms and to assist those people to find alternative employment in and around the town."

The march will assemble at Monkton Park at 10.30am and arrive at Chippenham town centre at 11am.