Strike threat over Diageo’s Scottish cuts

Union chiefs are threatening strike action over Diageo’s plans to axe 900 jobs in Scotland.

Members of the Unite union are set to meet up in London to put protest plans in place after the drinks giant last week announced the loss of 900 jobs in Glasgow and Kilmarnock, including the closure of the Johnnie Walker plant.

The company has justified the cuts by explaining they are essential to the long-term future of the company’s Scotch whisky business, but union leaders have dismissed these claims.

Unite’s Jim Winter told BBC Radio’s Good Morning Scotland show: “We don’t think the company’s arguments stack up.

“We believe Kilmarnock is one of the most profitable areas with the iconic blends of Red Label and Black Label whisky.”

He added: “Strike action is always an option. We rule nothing out and nothing in.

“We hope it won’t come to that and with the help of the politicians we can reverse this decision. Sometimes we have to take drastic measures.”

Harry Donaldson, of the GMB union, has warned concerned workers not to rush into strike action which could ultimately compromise hopes of a deal with Diageo.

He said: "The threat that Diageo could move their bottling and packaging elsewhere has been hanging over us for years. There’s no law that requires the whisky to be bottled in Scotland.

"I would urge everyone to remain calm. Let’s look rationally at these proposals and put together alternative plans to save the jobs and stop the closures.

"Strike action cannot be ruled out but I would urge against it at this stage, as we are working with politicians to put together a plan to make Diageo change their minds."

Scottish MPs have also waded into the row, with Kilmarnock and Loudoun’s SNP MSP Willie Coffey telling the programme the news was “absolutely devastating” for the town.

East Ayrshire Council reacted angrily to the announcement, placing an advert in Saturday’s Herald newspaper in which it complained that the first it knew about the plans was in a press release, meaning the council had no time to discuss the impact on the town before the news was made public.

Diageo plans to close the Johnnie Walker plant in Kilmarnock by 2011, ending the iconic Scotch’s affiliation with the town where is was first produced in 1820.

There are growing fears that Diageo could pull out of Scotland completely, with Bryan Donaghey, managing director of Diageo Scotland, admitting to the Daily Record that the company is facing "various pressures" to bottle the whisky closer to its key export markets.

He said: "Scotch has to be distilled and matured in Scotland but it doesn’t have to be bottled in Scotland."

Alan Lodge, 08.07.2009