A dispute over wages has led to workers at a Diageo Scotch whiskey distillery contemplating weekend strike action. On January 17, a first strike at the facility in the Scottish town of Leven started and lasted for 48 hours. There will be further halts in the upcoming months. Unite the Union, which represents the facility's employees, alleges that Diageo unilaterally implemented a reduced rate of pay for new hires at the location. According to the trade union, members who are employed at the plant as engineering support are "expected to lose roughly 6% of their wages when shifted to the lower rate of pay."
The engineering support at the bottling facility will "directly be impacted" by the strike action, Unite insisted, adding that it doesn't think the site would be safe to operate without its members in these positions.
Since the starters' pay controversy was brought up in 2019, there have been recurring interruptions and a wage disagreement at the Leven distillery. With the help of a last-minute agreement with the unions, Diageo avoided repeated strike actions at its Scottish manufacturing plants in 2019. In a two-year agreement, union workers at three Scottish manufacturing facilities, including Leven, received a 3% salary raise as well as new perks.
After Diageo revealed operational earnings increased 18.2% to £4.4 billion in July of last year and net sales increased 21.4% to £15.5 billion, Unite accused Diageo of engaging in a "race to the bottom." A rough estimate puts the number of employees at 27,987. "Diageo just recorded £4.4bn in earnings, which corresponds to a profit of over £157,000 being created by every employee," said Unite general secretary Sharon Graham.
After Diageo revealed operational earnings increased 18.2% to £4.4 billion in July of last year and net sales increased 21.4% to £15.5 billion, Unite accused Diageo of engaging in a "race to the bottom." A rough estimate puts the number of employees at 27,987. "Diageo just recorded £4.4bn in earnings, which corresponds to a profit of over £157,000 being created by every employee," said Unite general secretary Sharon Graham.
Johnnie Walker, Crown Royal, J&B, Buchanan's, and Windsor whiskies, Smirnoff, Cîroc, and Ketel One vodkas, Captain Morgan, Baileys, Don Julio, Tanqueray, and Guinness are just a few of the well-known brands produced by Diageo.
