Engineers at Fife whisky plant begin strike action in row over pay
Workers at Diageo's plant in Leven will stop work on February 3rd in a dispute over shift changes which they say are effectively a 6% pay cut
Workers at a Fife whisky plant will begin a series of walkouts on Friday evening in an escalating pay dispute, their union has said.
Members of Unite the Union at Diageo's plant in Leven will stop work on February 3rd in a dispute over shift changes which they say are effectively a 6% pay cut.
Affecting mainly engineering workers, strike action will conclude just before 6am on Monday morning.
The union claimed strike action will directly impact on the engineering support for the bottling plant and believes it will not be safe to run the plant without the support its members provide.
The latest round of strike action follows previous stoppages with more strike action scheduled to take place until April 3 if a resolution is not found.
Previously, Diageo told the PA news agency it is not introducing a lower rate of pay for new starters and said the dispute relates to shift arrangements for the 10 people taking industrial action.
Unite general secretary, Sharon Graham said: "Unite's engineering members at Diageo's Leven plant have had enough of pay cuts especially as the company's profits are soaring. Diageo recorded Ă‚ÂŁ4.4 billion in profits - up nearly 20 per cent - directly on the back of our members' hard work.
"Yet some of our members are now facing considerable pay cuts when inflation has hit a 45-year high. This is totally unacceptable and we will stand with our members in their fight against corporate greed at Diageo."
The union also said workers in dispute would hold a protest outside The Johnnie Walker Experience in Edinburgh on Saturday February 11 and at the Leven plant on Sunday February 12 from 12pm each day in a bid to highlight Unite's claims that some of its engineering members are set to lose about 6% of their pay when moved to a proposed lower rate of pay.
Unite industrial officer Bob Macgregor said: "The weekend strike action is the latest round in our members' fight for decent and fair pay. Diageo are one of the most profitable companies in the UK yet they are treating their engineering workers with complete disrespect.
"The workers keep the bottling plant safe and literally keep the drinks flowing.
"They will be taking their fight to The Johnnie Walker Experience next Saturday (11 February) so that the people of Edinburgh and all visitors to the centre get to understand what kind of experience the company is giving its workforce."
A spokesman for Diageo previously told the PA news agency: "This dispute is with 10 of our weekend shift engineers in relation to the number of night shifts required and associated shift premiums.
"We are not introducing a lower rate of pay for new starters.
"We are proud of the pay and benefits packages we provide to our people across all our sites, but unfortunately this group of 10 employees have rejected our proposal.
"We have well-developed contingency plans in place to ensure the site can continue to operate safely and as planned.
"We remain committed to seeking a resolution to this dispute and are open to further discussions."