Fears that a popular Guinness drink may not be on the menu this Christmas are growing as employees at a canning factory in Northern Ireland are striking to end a pay gap.
Guinness, one of the best-selling and renowned beer products in the world, is sold everyday in a volume that exceeds 10 million, according to the stout house.
In August, it was revealed that a fifth of all sales were actually made up by the alcohol-free version of the beverage, which The Grocer valued at being worth an astonishing £48.4 million.
If you were planning on guzzling cans of the zero alcohol tipple this Christmas over classic, creamy pints, then you may have to put plans on hold; Guinness factory workers in Belfast are on strike.
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Staff aren’t expected to resume work until 20 December, with trade union Unite stating that they are looking for a pay deal that would end their alleged pay gap with those working at another Diageo Guinness packaging site.
It’s understood that the distributor is paying those working out of the alternative site in Runcorn, England, ‘a much higher salary rate of pay’.
The industry action was originally scheduled for earlier in December, but was put on hold by the union to give the 90+ workers time to consider a new pay offer, put forward by Diageo, as per The Drinks Business.
However, Unite said the revised salary offer was ‘inadequate’. It also claimed Belfast workers ‘voted overwhelmingly’ to reject it.
“Diageo’s Belfast site is the world’s biggest producer of Guinness Zero and this strike action will severely disrupt production lines in the run-up to Christmas,” Michael Keenan, regional officer for Unite confirmed.
“Management needs to stop disrespecting our members and return to the negotiating table with an offer that meets workers’ pay expectations.”
He claimed that Northern Irish-based workers weren’t ‘being treated as fairly as their counterparts in England’ and that the basic wage was ‘just above’ the £12.21 minimum wage.
The site, owned by drinks distributor Diageo, is where workers exclusively package the 0.0 products which are brewed in the Republic of Ireland.
In Runcorn, staff are responsible for carrying out the kegging, bottling, and canning of alcoholic Guinness Draught products.
A spokesperson for Diageo told BBC that it was ‘disappointed’ that Belfast workers had rejected their pay offer, claiming it was ‘more than fair and reasonable’.
They added that the company remains ‘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’.
Despite the walkout, Diageo said contingency plans were in place to ensure Christmas drinkers would still get their 0.0 cans of Guinness.
The Drinks Business also stated that Barry O’Sullivan, Guinness Open Gate Brewery managing director, has dismissed concerns of shortages.
Ella Scott