Whisky workers in strike ballot over pay freeze

A UNION has started balloting whisky workers at Chivas Brothers over strike action in response to “corporate greed” attempts to impose a pay freeze.

GMB Scotland said the Chivas parent company Pernod Ricard had awarded pay rises to its workers in France earlier this year.

Discussions between the union and the employer took place earlier this month through Acas. However GMB said these talks collapsed when management suggested they were unwilling to lift the pay freeze.

The ballot runs until May 10, with industrial action potentially impacting the company’s Scottish operations as early as the end of that month.

Union organiser Keir Greenaway said: “Despite the many challenges that have faced the whisky industry over the past year, from Brexit to the US tariffs and through a global pandemic, the efforts of Chivas workers in Scotland have kept the profits rolling in for Pernod Ricard.

“These pay negotiations were an opportunity for the company to reward the workers for their substantial efforts with a pay offer that reflects the value of their contribution.”

Chivas Brothers chairman and chief executive Jean-christophe Coutures said the firm had been “in constructive discussions with our unions for many months to find alternative ways to reward our teams, and we believe our proposals recognise their continued hard work and dedication”, adding: “We are extremely disappointed that our latest offers – which have included guaranteed pay increases in 2021 and 2022 – have been rejected.”