Irn-Bru drivers walk out on first day of strike

A national is informing that Irn-Bru "may not get through" arsenic drivers astatine the fizzy drink's proprietor spell connected strike.

The archetypal of 9 24-hour walkouts is taking spot connected Friday astatine AG Barr's accumulation and organisation centre successful Cumbernauld.

Unite represents 11 trucker and shunter drivers who enactment for the institution and volition beryllium taking portion successful the strikes betwixt 11 August and 6 October.

AG Barr said it had made a wage connection it believed was "fair and competitive".

A ballot was held aft Unite members rejected a 5% wage deal. Strike enactment was backed by 83% of members and the bid of walkouts were confirmed successful July.

A continuous overtime prohibition began connected 8 August.

Pickets volition beryllium successful spot extracurricular the main entranceway to the Cumbernauld works connected Friday.

Unite wide caput Sharon Graham, said: "AG Barr tin spend to wage its trucker and shunter drivers acold much than the penny-pinching wage chopped presently connected offer.

"The drivers are perfectly indispensable to supplies, including Irn-Bru.

"The institution is currency affluent with £52.9m chilling successful the bank. We volition backmost our members each the mode successful their combat for amended jobs, wage and conditions."

Despite talks done the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (Acas), Unite confirmed that AG Barr had refused to determination beyond a 5% wage connection for 2023.

Unite said this was a "significant real-terms wage cut", saying the broader outgo of surviving measurement (RPI) was presently 10.7%.

The multi-beverage concern accrued its gross by 18.2% to £317.6m for the twelvemonth to 29 January 2023.

AG Barr accrued its adjusted nett earlier taxation to £43.5m, and owed to beardown gross generation, it reported a nett currency presumption of £52.9m.

Andy Brown, Unite concern officer, said: "Unite's members person nary enactment but to instrumentality onslaught enactment due to the fact that AG Barr stubbornly refuses to springiness its loyal workforce a just stock of its sparkling profits.

"AG Barr's stinginess has escalated this quality erstwhile it could person been easy resolved with a just wage offer."

A spokesperson for AG Barr, said: "We're disappointed successful the determination by 11 of our Scottish based HGV1 drivers, represented by Unite the union, to instrumentality concern action.

"We made a wage connection that we judge is just and competitory - successful enactment with what has been agreed with our different employees.

"We judge we person a work to beryllium just to everyone.

"We person contingency plans successful spot to support lawsuit work and we volition proceed to enactment with Unite representatives and Acas to find a affirmative and constructive resolution."