Brewing pay row stirs up fears of summer beer drought

‘The last thing workers want to do is jeopardise beer supplies just as the hot weather kicks in’

BEER drinkers are facing a “thirsty summer”, a union has said, as strike action involving hundreds of brewery staff threatens to hit supplies.

Workers at the Budweiser Brewing Group’s Lancashire site, which makes Budweiser, Stella Artois, Becks, Boddingtons and Export Pale Ale, have signalled industrial action across several days in June after a row over pay.

The GMB union said that the first day of strike action would be June 6, with more dates to follow, as it warned drinkers “could go thirsty this summer” as a result.

Stephen Boden, a GMB organiser, said: “The last thing these workers want to do is jeopardise beer supplies just as the hot weather kicks in. But they’ve been pushed into this by bosses essentially slashing their wages during a cost of living crisis.

“Do they really expect loyal workers to swallow a real terms pay cut?”

He warned that “anyone fancying a pint of Budweiser, Stella Artois, Becks,

Boddingtons or Export Pale Ale could go thirsty this summer”, adding that it is not too late for “bosses to listen to workers and offer a fair deal”.

More than 200 union members at the Samlesbury site, near Preston, will go on strike for the first time in its 50-year history. The union said that it had tabled a final offer of a 3 per cent increase for 2022 and 2023 with increases in overtime rates, after “months of discussion” with the company.

However, it said that given the cost of living crisis and high inflation, the offer amounts to a pay cut in real terms.

The announcement of the planned strike action coincided with warnings of a bottled beer shortage this summer.

“It won’t be long before the glassware shortages hit UK consumers,” said Julie Dunn, operations director of the

Scottish wholesaler Dunns Food and Drinks.

In response to concerns raised by beer experts in Germany that the country could be facing a glassware shortage this summer, she said: “Our wine and spirits suppliers from around the globe are facing ongoing struggles that will have a knock-on effect.

“As a result, there could be less variety in the bottled beers we see on UK shelves.”

AB Inbev, which owns Budweiser, has been approached for comment.