Greene King workers in Nottinghamshire are set to take part in national strike action as they call for 'fair pay'. Staff will take part in three days of strike action from December 21-23, with further strike days between December 28-31.
The brewing giant supplies well-known beers and ales to pubs, restaurants and shops including IPA, Old Speckled Hen and Abbot Ale. Unite members include production and distribution workers, drivers and draymen. They are based at Bury St Edmunds, Eastwood in Nottinghamshire, and Abingdon in Oxfordshire.
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The workers voted for strike action after Greene King offered them a three percent pay increase and a further one-off payment of £650. The company has made a revised offer of a two-year pay deal.
With the real inflation rate (RPI) currently standing at 14 percent, this "still amounts to a very substantial real terms wage cut", Unite says.
Greene King stated they have met regularly with members of Unite since the pay offer in May. They said disruption has been kept to a minimum as the majority of our brewing and distribution teams have continued to work.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “Greene King’s ultimate owners are the Hong Kong conglomerate CK Hutchison Group. They are incredibly wealthy so Greene King workers should be paid fairly. Instead, workers are being offered a pay cut dressed up as a pay rise.
“Unite members at Greene King will receive the union’s complete and total support throughout their dispute. Greene King management need to return to the negotiating table with a substantially improved pay offer.”
Unite regional officer Mark Jaina said: “The strike action means popular beers like Old Speckled Hen could run out this Christmas and New Year but this dispute is entirely down Greene King’s refusal to make a fair pay offer. The workers are standing firm and action will spread into 2023. It’s time the company stopped playing Scrooge and started genuine pay talks.”
A Greene King spokesperson said: “The majority of our brewing and distribution teams have continued to work and we are incredibly grateful for their hard work and commitment, which has meant disruption has been kept to a minimum and we were able to complete all the deliveries our customers were expecting during the previous period of industrial action. We’ve met regularly with members of Unite over the past few months since the pay rise offer in May and explained how we aim to be fair and consistent across our business, given the challenging wider economic environment currently.
“We are disappointed Unite has not come back to us with sustainable options to discuss and a minority is attempting to disrupt deliveries to pubs. We have robust contingency plans in place so that pubs continue receiving deliveries from us across Christmas and beyond, at a time when pubs need all the support they can get ahead of what looks like an incredibly challenging January and February.”
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