Strike action at Diageo’s plants in Fife have been called off after a new pay offer from the drinks giant just hours before workers were set for industrial action.
Fife workers had planned to strike for 24 hours at Leven and Cameronbridge from 8am on Wednesday.
Diageo tabled a new deal late on Tuesday evening – increasing their previous 2.8% pay rise offer to 3% for its Scottish workforce.
GMB Scotland organiser Keir Greenaway and Unite Scotland officer Stevie Deans said: “We are pleased that on the brink of strike action, Diageo tabled an offer that we feel merits our members’ consultation.
“The offer is a two year commitment on pay and also sets out a time frame for the negotiation of a new collective agreement.
“Our strike action is now suspended while a full consultative ballot of our members takes place on the offer.”
Diageo said the proposal for a two-year deal with a 3% increase in year one and then an RPI increase with a commitment to put in place a performance-based incentive bonus in year two.
Both parties have also committed to talks to agree a new ‘collective agreement’ for future years.
A Diageo spokesperson said: “Following further negotiations today, our improved offer has been recommended for acceptance by both the GMB and Unite unions and strike action has been suspended.
“We are pleased to have reached agreement on a good, fair offer that ensures our employees can receive an increase on their pay while maintaining the competitiveness of our operations.”
Diageo employs around 3,000 staff in Scotland of which 1,000 are based in Fife.
The drinks company has a number of sites in Kirkcaldy and Leven, most notably its bottling plant at Banbeath and the distillery at Cameronbridge.
Workers had been set to walk out at dozens of sites in Scotland after unions rejected a “final” pay offer of 2.8% on Monday.
But a deal was struck shortly before the first of a wave of strikes was due to start at 10pm on Tuesday.
Diageo, whose brands include Smirnoff, Bailey’s, Johnnie Walker, Guinness, Tanqueray and Gordon’s gin, announced in July an increase in pre-tax profits to £4.2 billion.
