Chivas Brothers workers suspend strikes to consider a new pay offer

Workers in the whisky industry are considering a new pay offer and have suspended strike action.

Chivas Brothers who employ more than 1,500 workers have had around a third of their workers who are members of Unite announce strike action.

Strikes were due to take place across 21 sites with an overtime ban with short-notice bans.

Unite industrial officer Andy Brown said, “Unite has been in intense negotiations with Chivas Brothers since we announced our rolling programme of strike action.

“Following the latest round of talks we have agreed to put a new pay offer to our 500-strong Chivas Brothers membership for consideration.

“Unite has taken the decision to suspend all forthcoming industrial action until our membership has had the opportunity to vote on the merits of this new offer.”

A Chivas Brothers spokesperson said, “While the results of the official ballot are still pending, we are pleased that constructive talks have enabled us to re-engage with the unions on our original proposal, and reach a mutually-agreeable position that avoids unnecessary strike action and limits the long-term impact of this dispute on our team.

“Our offer reflects our ongoing commitment to sharing our success throughout the company, while recognising the normalising business and economic environment for the year ahead.

“We are a resilient business. Reaching this agreement means we can now continue to focus on our main business objective, which is the continued supply of our world-renowned whiskies to consumers all over the world.”