Cadbury Union takes jobs fight to UK Parliament

U.S.-based Kraft Foods Inc has until February 2 to convince Cadbury investors to accept its 10.5 billion pound ($16.8 billion) hostile takeover offer and Cadbury was poised to make a new statement in its defense on Tuesday. Potential rivals Hershey Co and Italy's Ferrero have until January 23 to submit a firm offer.

UK and Irish workers and UK businesses, certainly do not benefit and they will continue to lose out if bidding wars, like the one unfolding for Cadbury, are allowed to determine the future of our companies and country, Unite's deputy general secretary Jack Dromey said in a statement.

Dromey will speak before Britain's Business, Innovation and Skills Select Committee of the House of Commons on Tuesday as part of its campaign to protect the interests of UK and Irish workers. Unite represents some two million workers across industries.

Unite said it feared Kraft would seek to generate savings through mass layoffs and restructuring if it acquired Cadbury. It is pushing the U.S. company to provide commitments on minimum employment protections, including no compulsory redundancies or site closures.

British Select Committees examine the work of government departments and produce reports on areas of public policy, which can then be debated in the House of Commons.

(Reporting by Victoria Howley; editing by Michele Gershberg and Andre Grenon)