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Chivas avoids strike action after new pay offer

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GMB and Unite members have accepted an ‘improved’ wage supply from Pernod Ricard’s Chivas Brothers arm, averting strike motion throughout the agency’s Scottish operations.

chivas-regal

Chivas Brothers produces Chivas Regal blended Scotch whisky

Chivas Brothers staff, who’re members of commerce unions Unite and GMB, were due to go on strike at quite a lot of websites throughout Scotland on the finish of Could.

Chivas had supplied a pay freeze to its staff, which led to the unions balloting their members for strike motion. Unite members voted for strike motion by 82% on a 62% turnout, whereas greater than 4 fifths of GMB members backed requires industrial motion.

Following discussions via Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (Acas), Chivas offered a brand new supply to its workers in late Could.

The supply will imply that Chivas staff will obtain a wage enhance of two.5% or inflation on 1 July 2021, relying on which is highest, and a pay rise of two% or inflation on 1 July 2022. Members of each unions voted to accepted the supply on Friday (18 June).

Chivas Brothers, Pernod Ricard’s Scotch whisky arm, employs round 1,600 staff in Scotland. Unite has tons of of members on the firm’s Kilmalid bottling corridor, Strathclyde grain distillery, southern operations and northern operations.

Elaine Dougall, Unite regional coordinating officer, stated: “The pay deal will imply our members’ incomes can be protected in opposition to any rises in inflation over the following two years.

“It’s disappointing that we needed to threaten to carry strike motion with a purpose to get Chivas Brothers to make a good supply to the workforce who’ve labored continuous all through the pandemic. We hope that this deal can reset the connection with Chivas Brothers so we are able to keep away from the instability of the previous few months for the longer term.”

The commercial motion would have affected Chivas’ key Scottish manufacturing websites, together with maturation amenities in Speyside, Clydebank and Ayrshire.

On the finish of Could, GMB staff at Chivas Brothers websites in Scotland implemented a ban on overtime in response to the corporate’s pay freeze supply.

“GMB instructed Chivas that staff throughout Scotland couldn’t be the poor relations of the Pernod Ricard household, not after their steady manufacturing all through this Covid-19 pandemic,” stated GMB Scotland organiser Keir Greenaway.

“Chivas have listened to the employees’ voice and our members have now voted to simply accept an improved supply on their pay and situations for the following yr.

“It will present some stability in these unsure occasions for our members, however relaxation assured we’ll proceed to marketing campaign and organise to make work higher for them.”

Chivas assertion

Jean-Christophe Coutures, chairman and CEO of Chivas Brothers, stated the corporate welcomed the acceptance of its new supply.

He continued: “Regardless of the unprecedented enterprise challenges we proceed to face as we get well from the affect of Covid-19, we have now maintained 100% of jobs and pay all through the pandemic – and even recruited throughout our Scottish websites.

“Our newly agreed supply – which incorporates assured pay will increase in 2021 and 2022 – means we are able to now transfer on from the disruption attributable to the dispute and refocus our collective efforts on our restoration from the affect of the pandemic and attaining long-term enterprise success.”

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