Workers at Diageo’s brewery in Northern Ireland’s capital have voted to take strike action in a dispute over pay.
The walkouts, organised by Unite the Union, are scheduled to run from 5 to 13 December. The union claims the stoppages could affect production of Guinness 0.0, for which the Belfast facility is the company’s largest global site.
Around 90 staff are involved in the dispute. Unite said workers are seeking a “substantial” uplift in order to narrow what they describe as a pay gap with Diageo’s Runcorn facility near Liverpool in England. The union added that the strikes would “severely disrupt production lines in the run-up to Christmas”, calling on management to return with an improved offer.
Diageo has been contacted for comment.
Late last year, the London-headquartered brand owner faced a shortage of full-strength Guinness in the UK due to “exceptional consumer demand”, driven by increased popularity with younger LDA consumers and social media influencers. The company managed distribution to pubs, which led to some outlets having to limit supplies, although off-premise availability in the market was largely unaffected.
In August, Diageo proposed an expansion to another brewery it is building in Ireland that would more than double the site’s planned output of both Guinness and its non-alcoholic counterpart.
