WORKERS at the firm which makes Irn-Bru have announced they will go on strike in a pay dispute.
Unite, the trade union representing drivers responsible for transporting supplies of Scotland's other national drink, has issued a statement announcing nine 24-hour work stoppages, beginning on Friday.
The last shut-down is due to end on October 6, the union announced.
Unite represents truckers who transport AG Barr drinks across the country and shunter drivers, who move beverages around its site in Cumbernauld.
We previously reported that around a dozen workers voted in the strike ballot, which backed strike action by 83%.
There will be a picket line outside the North Lanarkshire distribution centre from 5.30am on Friday until 8am and another from 1pm to 3pm.
Unite said there a ban on overtime had also come into effect this week.
Sales of Irn-Bru rose by 6% last year and AG Barr posted profits of £33.9million, ThisIsMoney.co.uk reported in March.
Talks with bosses, facilitated through workplace dispute mediators Acas, failed to deliver an improvement on a 5% pay increase for workers, Unite said.
The union said this increase amounted to a real-terms pay cut with inflation. CPIH, the measure of price increases which includes homeownership costs, rose by 7.3% in the 12 months to June 2023, according to the Office for National Statistics.
Andy Brown, an industrial officer with Unite, said: “Unite’s members have no option but to take strike action because AG Barr stubbornly refuses to give its loyal workforce a fair share of its sparkling profits.
“There is a steely determination among our members because five per cent just doesn’t cut it.
“The 24-hour strike action will be the first of nine stoppages over the coming weeks. AG Barr’s stinginess has escalated this dispute when it could have been easily resolved with a fair pay offer.”
A spokesperson for AG Barr said: "We’re disappointed in the decision by 11 of our Scottish based HGV1 drivers, represented by Unite the union, to take industrial action.
"We made a pay offer that we believe is fair and competitive - in line with what has been agreed with our other employees.
"We believe we have a responsibility to be fair to everyone. We have contingency plans in place to maintain customer service and we will continue to work with Unite representatives and ACAS to find a positive and constructive resolution."
