Strike Warning Over Diageo Whisky Job Cuts

[John]

Union leaders have said they cannot rule out balloting for strike action in their fight against job cuts at drinks firm Diageo.

Members of the union Unite are due to meet in London to plan their campaign against the axing of 900 workers in Kilmarnock and Glasgow.

The company has said restructuring is needed to expand the business and ensure long-term profit.

Jim Winter from Unite said he could not rule out strike action.

Diageo announced the job losses, of which 700 are based at the Johnnie Walker plant in Kilmarnock, last week.

"We believe Kilmarnock in particular is one of the most profitable areas with the iconic blends of red label and black label whisky."

He added: "Strike action is always going to be an option. We rule nothing out and nothing in. We hope it won't come to that and with the help of the politicians that we can reverse this decision."

Mr Winter admitted that strike action could be seen as counter-productive but said: "Sometimes we have to take drastic measures."

Kilmarnock and Loudoun MP Des Browne and SNP MSPs Willie Coffey and Bob Doris are also planning to make their cases to Diageo management this week.

Mr Coffey told the programme Diageo's announcement was "absolutely devastating" for the town.


First Minister Alex Salmond met Diageo representatives on Thursday.

He said the company had agreed to consider alternative proposals during a consultation process which started on Friday.

He also said he was given a guarantee that there would be no compulsory job losses in the next 12 months.

There was outrage when Diageo, which made a profit of £1.64bn in the six months to the end of December, said jobs were to go.

Diageo aims to offset the job losses by creating up to 400 new posts at its packaging plant at Leven in Fife.

East Ayrshire Council placed an angry advert in Saturday's Herald newspaper, complaining the first it knew about the plans for Kilmarnock was in a press release.

That meant the council could not discuss the impact on the town, before the news got out.

Scottish Finance Secretary John Swinney is leading a cross-party alliance, which wants to come up with an alternative business plan - to persuade Diageo not to shut the sites.

Unite union members are due to meet in London to decide how to force Diageo to explain to staff why the jobs must go.

Diageo claims restructuring is needed to expand the business and ensure long-term profit.

John

Source: BBC online

[Andy M]

I read in the Daily Record online that Diageo hatched secret plans months ago to turn part of the doomed Johnnie Walker plant staff car park in Kilmarnock into luxury flats.

They apparently lodged a planning application to convert the Johnnie Walker staff car park in Kilmarnock into a residential development eight weeks ago. But the staff at the plant were unaware of their bleak future until recently. It seems making a profit from redeveloping the plant was more important to Diageo than caring for their staff or letting their staff know of their future as soon as they could. What a terrible way to treat their employees, it is simply not right to have kept employees in the dark.

Andy M