Irn-Bru drivers go on strike in Cumbernauld
Trucker and shunter drivers from Unite the union have gone on strike at A.G. Barr’s production and distribution centre in Cumbernauld.
Trucker and shunter drivers from Unite the union have gone on strike at A.G. Barr’s production and distribution centre in Cumbernauld.
There were pickets organised outside the main entrance to the Cumbernauld centre at 5.30 am until 8am, and thereafter at 1pm until 3pm.
The 24-hour stoppage is the first of nine with the final stoppage due to end on 6 October, says Unite. A continuous ban on overtime also came into effect this week.
Explaining the reason for the strike, Unite general secretary Sharon Graham, said:
“A.G. Barr can afford to pay its trucker and shunter drivers far more than the penny-pinching pay cut currently on offer. The drivers are absolutely essential to supplies, including Irn-Bru. The company is cash rich with £52.9m chilling in the bank. We will back our members all the way in their fight for better jobs, pay and conditions.”
Unite claims that in the build up to the strike, A.G. Barr had refused to move beyond the five per cent pay offer for 2023.
This, says the union, equates to a significant real-terms pay cut with the broader cost of living measurement (RPI) currently standing at 10.7%. The A.G. Barr workers had previously backed strike action by 83%.
Andy Brown, Unite industrial officer, added:
“Unite’s members have no option but to take strike action because A.G. 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. A.G. Barr’s stinginess has escalated this dispute when it could have been easily resolved with a fair pay offer.”
An AG Barr spokesman told the BBC that production would not be disrupted by the drivers’ strike and contingency plans had been put in place to to maintain normal levels of service. He added: “The strike is not expected to have any material impact on service.”
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