Strike Dates Set Targeting Chivas Brothers

The two labor unions representing hundreds of Chivas Brothers distillery and bottling plant workers have given notice of their plans to strike between December 11 and 14 following a breakdown in contract talks. Unite and GMB Scotland are also banning their members from working overtime and short-notice shifts starting on December 11.

GMB Scotland plans a one-day strike December 12 targeting The Glenlivet distillery, along with Aberlour, Strathisla, and other distilleries and bottling plants. Unite plans a series of rolling strikes targeting various Chivas Brothers facilities during the three-day period, with a goal of disrupting whisky shipments during the holiday season.

Both unions rejected a proposed 6.4% wage hike after the Pernod Ricard division reported a 10-year high in sales during the 2023 fiscal year, with a 17% year-on-year gain. Unite spokesman Andrew Brown said in a statement “Unite has repeatedly warned Chivas Brothers that strike action is inevitable unless the current pay offer was improved. It has not listened to our members and now industrial action is a matter of weeks away. The company should be in no doubt that our members are determined to get their fair share of the hundreds of millions in profit Chivas Brothers is coining in.”

A Chivas Brothers spokesperson said the company remains committed to its pay offer, and hopes for “constructive dialogue” to resolve the labor dispute. The spokesperson said any strike will not affect year-end orders, since most have already been shipped globally.