Bury St Edmunds Greene King workers prepare for next wave of strikes over pay
A major brewing company has announced more strikes that could cause beer shortages over Christmas and New Year’s eve.
According to the union Unite, 188 members at Greene King took strike action last week and a further seven days of strikes are to happen in Bury St Edmunds, Eastwood in Nottinghamshire and Abingdon in Oxfordshire.
The strikes will start on Wednesday December 21 to Friday December 23 and then a further four days between Wednesday December 28 to Saturday December 31.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “Greene King’s ultimate owners are the Hong Kong conglomerate CK Hutchinson Group.
“They are incredibly wealthy - but workers are only being offered a paltry pay deal which is substantially below the current 14.2 per cent rate of inflation.
“When inflation is almost five times higher than the pay deal on the table it means workers are actually being offered a pay cut which is presented as a pay rise.
“Unite members at Greene King will receive the union’s complete and total support throughout their dispute.”
The strike action comes after workers were offered a three per cent pay increase and a £650 one-off payment.
The union believes the strikes will affect supplies of well-known beers including IPA, Old Speckled Hen and Abbot Ale.
Unite regional officer Mark Jaina said: “The strike action will inevitably result in beer shortages this Christmas and New Year but this dispute is entirely down Greene King’s own refusal to make a fair pay offer.
“The workers decision to announce a further seven days of strike action is proof that they remain determined.
“It’s time the company stopped playing Scrooge and started genuine pay talks.”
A spokesperson at Greene King has 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 last week.
"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.”
