United Kingdom, London: Union workers at the Carlsberg brewery in Northampton announced Tuesday, November 30, they had postponed a planned strike for 24 hours, pending a vote on a new contract proposal, according to Associated Press. The result of the ballot was to be announced Wednesday, December 1, the Transport and General Workers' Union said.

The company's new offer came after workers rejected an earlier restructuring plan that would have left a portion of the 180-strong union work force without guaranteed regular pay raises. The union had voted to strike for 16 days starting Dec. 1; it rescheduled the strike for Dec. 2 should the new proposal fall through. "After further negotiations, Carlsberg has offered an improved restructuring plan, which the union will consider today," said Andrew Dodgshon, a spokesman for the union.

Neither the union nor the company would comment on the specifics of the new proposal. "We're obviously hopeful they'll accept the new offer," said Donna Cresswell, a spokeswoman for Carlsberg UK. Officials from Carlsberg UK, one of Britain's largest brewers, and the union have clashed over a restructuring plan that would train workers in multiple skills and then increase workers' pay according to their training.

Carlsberg officials said the plan offers workers a chance to increase their pay by 20 percent in three years. Union officials said they can't accept the plan because workers who don't reach a certain level of training aren't guaranteed any regular pay increases. "We don't have a problem with the fundamental restructuring plan, just a problem with how Carlsberg would like to implement it," Dodgshon said.

Workers at Carlsberg's other large British brewery, in Leeds, accepted a similar plan earlier this year. But union officials in Northampton said that subsequent problems with the Leeds restructuring plan fueled their move to reject the original proposal. Cresswell said the 100 non-union workers at the Northampton plant would provide enough of a work force to avoid significant disruption in the event of a strike.

Carlsberg UK is a wholly owned subsidiary of Danish company Carlsberg Breweries A/S, based in Copenhagen.

01 December, 2004