Diageo strike: engineer workers walk out and plan protest at Leven plant

Engineers walked out at 7:00pm on Friday and won’t return to their posts until Monday morning.

Trade union Unite plans a demonstration outside the plant on Sunday from midday to 12;30pm. Members will also protest outside the company’s Johnnie Walker Experience in Edinburgh today.

The action following the introduction of a lower rate of pay for new starts without consultation with the unions- an issue first raised in 20. The dispute involves ten of our weekend shift engineers.

Sharon Graham, Unite general secretary, said: “Our engineering members at Diageo’s Leven plant are absolutely resolute in taking this multi-billion company head on. Diageo should be under no illusions that our members are utterly resolute about securing a deal in this dispute. Unite stands with our members in their fight against the stunning corporate greed at Diageo.”

Bob Macgregor, Unite industrial officer added: “The behaviour by Diageo has been nothing less than shocking during this pay dispute. We are dealing with one of the UK’s richest companies who could very easily resolve this dispute with their billion pound profits.

A Diageo spokesperson said: “This dispute is with our weekend shift engineers in relation to the number of night shifts required and associated shift premiums.

"We are not introducing a lower rate of pay for new starters. We are proud of the pay and benefits packages we provide to our people across all our sites, but unfortunately, this group of ten employees have rejected our proposal.

" We have well developed contingency plans in place to ensure the site can continue to operate safely and as planned. We remain committed to seeking a resolution to this dispute and are open to further discussions.”

Unite has taken the whisky giant to task following the alleged introduction of a lower rate of pay for new starters without consultation with unions. This issue was first raised through the grievance process in 2019.

A Diageo spokesperson said: “ We strongly refute Unite’s claims that we have bypassed the collective consultation process.

"We are still committed to seeking a resolution with the very small number of employees who continue to take industrial action. Our Leven site continues to operate safely.”