Greene King brewery staff to strike as union blasts firm’s ‘greed’

Workers at brewers Greene King will go on strike in a row over pay.

Unite said 188 of its members based in Bury St Edmunds, Eastwood, Nottinghamshire, and Abingdon, Oxfordshire, will walk out for five days from December 5.

The workers brew and distribute Greene King’s products including IPA, Old Speckled Hen and Abbot Ale.

Unite said members voted for strike action after Greene King offered them a 3% pay rise and a one-off payment of £650, which it described as a substantial real-terms wage cut because of inflation.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “Greene King’s owners are incredibly wealthy; the failure to offer workers a decent pay rise is all about greed and not about need.

“Unite, which is now entirely focused on defending the jobs, pay and conditions of its members, will not idly stand by while a wealthy company tries to further boost its profits by subjecting its workers to substantial real-terms pay cuts.”

A Greene King spokesperson said: “We are disappointed that the union has encouraged its members to reject our pay offer, as well as a number of other benefits, and pursue this course of action.

“Our pay rise offer is fair and consistent across the business, especially given the challenging wider economic environment.

“We have full contingency plans in place to minimise disruption and we will be working closely with our customers to communicate and implement these in the coming days.”