Over 200 Unite members at the Encirc site in Avonmouth, Bristol, are set to strike between June 19 and July 5 – with the company supplying all UK major supermarkets with wine
Brits have been warned supermarket shelves could be left empty of wine this summer, as factory workers at a major bottling company are planning to strike. Over 200 Unite members at the Encirc site in Avonmouth, Bristol, are set to strike over pay and collective bargaining between June 19 and July 5.
Members at the factory work across different areas, including bottling and packaging red, white, rose and sparkling wine and distributing it from warehouses. The company supplies all the major supermarkets with wine, which is the most popular alcoholic drink in the UK. According to Unite, Encirc is a “very profitable company” with a turnover of over £600million, supplying all the big supermarkets with bottles, box and bags of wine.
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Unite says the firm has only offered its workers a 3.2 per cent pay rise without negotiating with Unite and has now repeatedly stated from now on it will only give pay rises tied to inflation.
Unite says this effectively means removing Unite’s collective bargaining rights, as any pay increases will be set by Encirc without negotiations before being imposed on workers. Previously, the union had been able to negotiate with management on pay.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “Encirc’s meanness to its workers is all about greed and not need. This is a very lucrative company that can fully afford to pay its workers properly but it is choosing not to.
“Unite will not stand idly by and allow Encric to steal our members hard won rights. Encirc workers deserve better and they have Unite’s full support throughout this dispute.”
Strikes will take place between June 19 and 5 July – with workers in different parts of the business taking strike action on different dates and times according to production schedules to have the biggest impact. There will also be a 12-week overtime ban as part of the action, the union said.
Unite regional officer John Sweeney said: “There is no doubt that this action will hit supermarket shelves. While shortages may be frustrating for customers looking to enjoy a bottle of wine this summer, the situation is entirely of Encirc’s own making.
“Management has constantly refused to engage meaningfully. Encirc needs to return to the negotiating table with a vastly improved offer.”
Supermarkets aren’t the only place to be affected by strikes this summer, as Brits have also been warned they could face serious travel disruption as workers at Edinburgh and Glasgow Airport have also threatened to walk out after rejecting “unacceptable” pay offers from their employer, Menzies Aviation. An overwhelming 97 per cent of around 300 workers at Glasgow Airport and 100 per cent of some 300 workers at Edinburgh Airport voted against the proposed deals.
The union has since warned that unless Menzies Aviation presents an improved offer, it will be forced to ballot members for strike action, potentially causing summer travel chaos. “Summer strike action looms over Edinburgh and Glasgow airports because the pay offers on the table from Menzies Aviation aren’t good enough,” Unite industrial officer Carrie Binnie said.