Diageo has struck a deal that more than doubles its payments to hundreds of Scottish workers set to lose their jobs as a result of planned closures by the drinks giant north of the border.
Workers at the company’s Kilmarnock and Port Dundas sites will now receive payments of £9,000 – up from Diageo’s original offer of £4,000.
Additionally, the payments will no longer be conditional on productivity and attendance.
Jennie Formby of Unite said the union was “very disappointed not to have been able to save sites from closure” but said the revised agreement “provides benefits for members that are second to none”.
She added: “The fighting spirit the workers demonstrated throughout the whole campaign let Diageo know that they simply could not walk away from these communities without fair and proper compensation.”
Diageo first announced plans for the controversial closures in July. Johnnie Walker whisky has been made in Kilmarnock for almost 190 years.
Read more
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