Diageo Workers To Protest At Gleneagles Golf Tournament

[John]

Diageo workers fighting to save 900 whisky jobs in Glasgow and Kilmarnock are targeting an international golf tournament sponsored by the company.

The workers will be at the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles, in Perthshire, over the next three days.

They will be handing out leaflets and gathering signatures on a petition.

Diageo chief executive Paul Walsh has previously said that such action risks damaging the image of the brand, which would be bad for staff.

Diageo plans to close its Johnnie Walker bottling plant in Kilmarnock and the Port Dundas distillery in Glasgow.

However, it wants to create 400 jobs by expanding its operations in Fife.

Jassy Smith, a Diageo worker and Unite shop steward who is helping to co-ordinate the protest, said: "When people around the world think of Scotland, they think of wonderful whisky and great golf courses, of which Gleneagles is the best there is.

"We are here to tell golf lovers that the home of golf, Scotland, and Scottish whisky are being betrayed by Diageo's plans to cut 900 jobs across the country and ditch its home in Kilmarnock."

John

Source: BBC News