Interbrew employees in four breweries are considering strike action over dispute on national level bargaining. A joint meeting of Transport & General Workers (T&G) union, GMB and Amicus shop stewards representing workers employed by Interbrew have decided to ballot their members for industrial action.
The ballot has been instigated because union members do not feel there is sufficient scope to negotiate on issues such as redundancy payments, transfers of work, closures and pensions.
Brian Revell, T&G's national organiser for food and agriculture, said: "For too long the company has been able to determine national issues without taking account of the interests of the workforce. The threatened closure of Boddingtons in Manchester cannot be anything other than a strategic company decision. If Interbrew can make decisions like that at a national level, there should be no reason why they shouldn't discuss associated issues which directly impact on their workforce."
The sites to be balloted include Magor near Newport in south Wales, Samlesbury near Preston in Lancashire and the Wellpark brewery in Glasgow. These sites produce premium brands in the UK, such as Stella Artois, so are crucial to the company.
Meanwhile the campaign to save Boddingtons continues. Manchester T&G organiser Franny Joyce said the Interbrew chief executive had refused to budge on closure despite the campaign pressure and the fact that the brand has grown by four per cent contributing to £16.5m profits.
"Boddingtons is a profitable brewery but the decision to close was taken far away from Manchester," he said. "Our people are fighting back. Who knows who might be next?"