Tulip workers staged their third rally in the space of a fortnight yesterday as they continued their fight against the closure of a meat processing factory.

Tulip workers staged their third rally in the space of a fortnight yesterday as they continued their fight against the closure of a meat processing factory.

Around 150 employees gathered outside the firm's Thetford plant as they put added pressure on the company to reconsider plans to make 350 permanent staff redundant.

Tulip, which is part of the Danish Crown group, announced in March that it was intending to axe its fresh pork and bacon operations after 42 years in the town.

Workers descended on the company's Caxton Way headquarters yesterday whilst officials from the Transport and General Workers Union (T&G) and Amicus presented company bosses with alternatives to closure following disclosure of its accounts last week. Members are also campaigning for the reinstatement of a long-standing redundancy enhancement scheme.

After the meeting, Miles Hubbard, T&G regional industrial organiser, said: “There has been little progress, but we have submitted our proposal, which we believe has legs and we are waiting for the company to come back to us. We believe that the plant has a future and we will keep fighting for the redundancy payments.”

“Thetford workers and the local community are determined to keep the pressure on Tulip, which has displayed utter disrespect to the long-standing workforce and their families.”

Tulip says that its antiquated infrastructure at Thetford has been the cause of years of loss making and there was no formal redundancy agreement in place. Ken Wallace, company spokesman, said the meeting was a “step in the right” direction and bosses would take a few days to examine the unions' proposals.