Wine drinkers could face supermarket shortages this summer after workers at the UK’s largest wine bottling plant voted to go on strike in a dispute over pay and conditions.
The Encirc plant in Bristol, which bottles nearly 300 million litres of wine a year and supplies all major UK supermarkets, will see industrial action from Thursday until July 5, union Unite has confirmed. The site handles around 40 per cent of the UK’s wine bottling, including products for 18 of the top 20 wine brands sold in Britain—such as Hardys, Villa Maria, McGuigan, and celebrity-backed labels from Graham Norton and Sarah Jessica Parker.
The strike will involve 200 workers, with Unite organising staggered walkouts across different parts of the business to maximise disruption. While immediate shortages are unlikely due to stockpiling and industry lead times, insiders warn that if the dispute is prolonged, wine containers arriving at UK ports could start backing up, with supply disruptions expected later in the summer.
John Sweeney, regional officer at Unite, said: “There is no doubt that this action will hit supermarket shelves. While shortages may be frustrating for customers looking to enjoy a bottle of wine this summer, the situation is entirely of Encirc’s own making.”
At the heart of the dispute is a 3.2 per cent pay rise offer from Encirc, owned by Spanish parent company Vidrala, alongside proposals to link future pay increases to inflation and remove collective bargaining rights—moves the union says would allow the company to impose terms without negotiation.
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