PUBS could “run dry” this Christmas after draymen and warehouse staff voted to strike over pay.
Workers at logistics firm GXO, which delivers for brewer and UK pub giant Greene King, will walk out in the lead-up to the festive season.
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Depot staff in Runcorn, Cheshire, have rejected a four per cent pay offer.
John McColl, of union Unite, said: “Greene King promises to ‘pour happiness’. They need to make our members happy or face more action.”
Greene King said the depot supplied less than a tenth of its pubs — and plans were already in place for other depots to deliver to them.
Trade union bosses slammed a well below inflation 4% pay increase offer, describing it as a real terms pay cut.
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GXO workers ferry beer to the Suffolk brewer’s watering holes across the north-west of England and up to the Lake District and Carlisle, Cumbria.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “Both Greene King and GXO are incredibly wealthy companies which can fully afford to make our members a fair pay offer.
“Unite always prioritises the pay and conditions of its members and the GXO workers on the Greene King contract will receive the union’s complete support.”
The trade union pointed to figures showing Greene King, which runs more than 2,700 inns across the UK, reported an adjusted operating profit of £192.6million in May this year, while GXO announced fourth quarter revenue for 2022 of more than £2billion.
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Unite regional officer John McColl said: “Greene King needs to make clear to its contractors to start paying a decent wage to our members or pubs will be running dry of their beer this Christmas.
“Greene King promises to ‘pour happiness’ – they need to make our members happy or face more industrial action.”
GXO and Greene King have been contacted for comment.
