Unite members voted “overwhelmingly” to reject a pay offer and around 90 workers will commence an eight-day strike from 7am on Friday 12 December continuing until the early hours of Saturday 19 December.
A previous eight-day strike was due to commence on Friday 8 December but was suspended by to allow consideration of the new pay offer.
The 90 workers have been demanding a substantial increase in pay to close the gap with Diageo employees at the company’s site in Runcorn, England.
The strike will shut down the site, which Unite said would have seen shortages of Guinness Zero this Christmas.
Diageo has told Food Manufacture that there will be no disruption in the supply of Guinness and Guinness 0.0 over the Christmas period. The company said it had contingency plans in place to manage any potential impact at the can packaging site in Belfast.
Unite general secretary, Sharon Graham, said: “Diageo is one of the largest and most profitable drinks companies in the world. It can afford to level up its workers pay but has chosen to put profits before people. Now it will see empty shelves as our members take to the picket line and shut down their factories. It needs to recognise the determination of this workforce to win fair pay and make a fair pay offer.”
A Diageo spokesperson said: “While we are disappointed by the outcome of the vote on what we believe was a more than fair and reasonable offer, we remain committed to constructive dialogue with the Union and its representatives to reach a resolution that supports the long-term competitiveness of the packaging site and the interests of our people.
“We respect the right of employees to take industrial action. To reiterate - there will be no disruption to the supply of Guinness or Guinness 0.0 over the Christmas period.”
