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Whisky workers at Chivas Brothers are being balloted over industrial action in a dispute over pay.

The move by unions GMB and Unite comes after talks between the unions and the distiller collapsed recently.

The unions claimed the firm had been unwilling to lift a pay freeze.

Chivas said it was "extremely disappointed" that its latest offers, which included "guaranteed pay increases" in 2021 and 2022, had been rejected.

The ballots will run until 10 May, with strike action potentially affecting the company's Scottish operations as early as the end of that month.

Chivas Brothers employs about 1,600 workers in Scotland, including at the Kilmalid bottling hall, Strathclyde Grain Distillery, Glenlivet Distillery and maturation sites in Speyside, Clydebank and Ayrshire.

Its brands include Chivas Regal, Ballantine's, Glenlivet, Royal Salute and Aberlour.

In a statement, GMB Scotland said Chivas' parent company, Pernod Ricard, had awarded pay rises to its workers in France earlier this year.

'Second-class citizens'

Organiser Keir Greenaway said: "It's not right that Chivas workers in Scotland should be treated like second-class citizens, taking real-terms cuts to their pay while their Pernod Ricard colleagues in France have rightly been awarded a pay rise.

"This is about standing up to corporate greed in the fight for proper value, and that's why we are now balloting our members for industrial action."

Unite regional coordinating officer Elaine Dougall said union members at Chivas had "reached the end of the line".

She added: "Other players in the industry are also offering significant pay rises in Scotland, whereas Chivas Brothers are offering practically nothing, despite the workers having continued to boost the profits of the company during the pandemic."

'Difficult decision'

In a statement, Chivas Brothers chairman and chief executive Jean-Christophe Coutures said: "In order to protect our long-term resilience while the (Covid-19) crisis is ongoing, we took the difficult decision to implement a salary freeze across the entire business for the past financial year.

"However we have been in constructive discussions with our unions for many months to find alternative ways to reward our teams, and we believe our proposals recognise their continued hard work and dedication.

"We are extremely disappointed that our latest offers - which have included guaranteed pay increases in 2021 and 2022 - have been rejected."