Planned industrial action at one of Diageo’s distilleries in Scotland has been suspended following one day of strikes this week.
Three further strike days, involving members of worker organisation Unite the Union, have been called off at the group’s Cameronbridge grain distillery, which employs around 200 people. The union called the move “a gesture of goodwill” to “facilitate talks” between its members and the Johnnie Walker brand owner.
Other ‘actions’, including a ban on overtime at the facility, in Scotland’s Lowlands production region, will continue while talks take place, Unite said.
A Diageo spokesperson told Global Drinks Intel: “We have accepted the joint unions’ request to attend conciliation at ACAS (the country’s Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service) and welcome the decision to suspend strike action. We look forward to constructive dialogue with a view to reaching a resolution.”
The dispute follows what Unite says are “Diageo’s plans to slash hundreds of jobs across its operations in Scotland with dozens of roles under review at Cameronbridge, as part of global restructuring proposals”. The union has accused Diageo of not consulting “properly” on job cuts at Cameronbridge, which produces grain whisky for blended scotches such as Buchanan’s, J&B and Johnnie Walker as well as vodka for Smirnoff and gin for Gordon’s and Tanqueray.
At the start of last year, Brown-Forman shifted the operations at two of its scotch distilleries to what it called a “shared production model”. Fast forward to February this year, Suntory Global Spirits made a near-identical move on Islay for the Bowmore and Laphroaig distilleries on the island.
