Over 250 staff at Gardners Books in Eastbourne have signed a petition supporting demands for better working conditions.
The GPMU has described management tactics as "intimidating", with workers being "pressured into working overtime".


The petition is to be presented to management on Monday (5 February) by the GPMU and prospective Labour Party candidate for Eastbourne, Gill Roles.


The petition states three demands:


* night shift workers should receive the 15 night payment when on holiday


* workers who insist on their legal right not to sign the 48-hour overtime opt out are not penalised by reduced overtime payments


* overtime is arranged with workers and not demanded at short notice


The GPMU has recruited over 100 of Gardners workforce, including a number in printing and warehousing.


Managing director Jonathan Little did not return PrintWeeks calls.


Gardners joined up with Antony Rowe last June to create the UKs first book-on-demand centre.


It reported a 23% rise in sales to 96.9m for the year to February 2000, with pre-tax profits of 7.2m. It employs 800 people, stocking more than 280,000 titles by 2,000 publishers.


Story by Andy Scott