BOSSES at transnational firm JDE attempting to fire and rehire workers at an Oxfordshire factory have been accused of secretly filming workers and their families at a rally against the practice.

JDE’s (Jacobs Douwe Egberts) coffee plant at Banbury is part of a Dutch-based conglomerate.

The 300 workers have been told they are to be fired and rehired on contracts that cut their pay and worsen their working conditions.

They have responded with two 24-hour strikes; three more days of strike action are scheduled from May 26.

The strikers have rallied support from the local community by staging rallies and demonstrations for the last three weekends.

The Unite union has accused the firm of filming strikers at the events and on the picket line, breaching data protection laws.

National officer for the food industry Joe Clarke said: “We are calling for the company to carry out a full investigation and to hand over the films and photographs. 

“We will be pursuing all legal avenues to obtain redress of yet another example of this management’s hard-line attitudes to our members — the filming of children is particularly repugnant.

“We will continue to strongly support our members in what is already an extremely anxious and distressing time for them as they face these immoral unethical fire-and-rehire plans.”

Mr Clarke said some members could lose between £7,000 and £12,000 a year under the new contracts, which may mean some of them losing their homes.

The TUC estimates that 2.3 million workers are being threatened with fire and rehire.

Unite general secretary Len McCluskey said: “It’s a disgraceful practice that’s outlawed in much of Europe — and should be here.”

JDE was asked to comment.