For many, the festive season in the UK and Ireland wouldn’t be complete without a pint of Guinness, whether it’s the classic pour or the increasingly popular alcohol-free Guinness 0.0. Yet this year, a pay dispute at the heart of Guinness’s production in Belfast has brought both labor rights and holiday supply anxieties to the forefront—though, for now, Diageo, the beverage giant behind Guinness, insists there will be no empty shelves this Christmas.
On December 12, 2025, around 90 workers at Diageo’s Guinness canning factory in East Belfast walked off the job, launching an eight-day strike that’s set to run until December 20 unless a resolution is found. The industrial action, organized by the trade union Unite, centers on a pay gap between workers at the Belfast site and those at Diageo’s Runcorn packaging facility in England. According to BBC, the workers are demanding a pay deal that would close this gap, with union officials claiming the disparity can reach up to 30% for identical roles.
The dispute has been simmering for some time. The strike was initially scheduled to begin a week earlier but was postponed after Diageo tabled a revised pay offer. However, as reported by The Independent, union members “voted overwhelmingly” to reject the new proposal, describing it as inadequate. The walkout was reinstated, and a picket line quickly formed at the entrance to the Castlereagh Road facility, where Guinness 0.0 is exclusively canned for global distribution.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham didn’t mince words, telling Belfast Live, “It can afford to level up its workers' pay but has chosen to put profits before people. It needs to recognise the determination of this workforce to win fair pay and make a fair pay offer.” The union has repeatedly highlighted Diageo’s financial strength, pointing to the company’s reported global net profits of more than $2.5 billion in 2025. “Diageo is one of the largest and most profitable drinks companies in the world,” Graham added, underscoring the workers’ belief that fair pay is well within the company’s means.
Michael Keenan, Unite’s regional officer, echoed these sentiments. “Workers here aren't being treated as fairly as their counterparts in England,” he told The Drinks Business, explaining that the Belfast staff’s basic wage is just above the £12.21 minimum wage. “They’re just looking to be treated equally. It’s the same company and this is a hugely profitable site.”
The sense of frustration among the workforce is palpable. Billy McFarlane, a union representative and 27-year veteran of the Belfast plant, described the situation to BBC’s Good Morning Ulster: “We have a sister site in England on a much higher salary rate of pay. With the increasing cost of living, what the business has brought to the table is insufficient. A much more substantial offer is needed to achieve fair pay for workers.”
According to LADbible, Guinness is a global juggernaut, selling over 10 million units daily, and its alcohol-free variant, Guinness 0.0, now accounts for a fifth of all sales—valued at £48.4 million. The Belfast site is the world’s largest producer of this non-alcoholic product. The Runcorn site in England, meanwhile, handles the kegging, bottling, and canning of the classic Guinness Draught. Both sites recently benefited from a £41 million investment by Diageo, which included a new canning line in Belfast and upgraded bottling capability in Runcorn.
Despite the walkout, Diageo has been quick to reassure consumers. A company spokesperson told BBC News, “We respect the right of employees to take industrial action. We remain open to constructive dialogue with union representatives to reach a resolution that supports the packaging site’s long-term competitiveness and the interests of our people. To reiterate, there will be no disruption to the supply of Guinness or Guinness 0.0 over the Christmas period as a result of this strike action.” The company said much of the Guinness earmarked for the festive season had already been distributed, and contingency plans were in place to keep supermarket and off-licence shelves stocked.
Barry O’Sullivan, managing director of the Guinness Open Gate Brewery, also dismissed concerns about shortages, according to The Drinks Business. Still, union officials warn that the real crunch could come later. As The Independent reported, workers have cautioned that if the dispute drags on without resolution, supply shortages could hit another key date for Guinness lovers: St Patrick’s Day in March 2026. “There will be some consequences for Christmas, but the main consequences will be after Christmas, because at this time of the year they actually do the packaging for St Patrick’s Day,” Keenan explained, noting that a significant portion of this production is exported to the United States for the March celebrations.
The strike has highlighted deeper issues of pay equity and industrial relations at one of the world’s most iconic beverage brands. Workers say they haven’t received a pay raise since 2023 and that negotiations for 2024 and 2025 have failed to yield a satisfactory outcome. “We’ve been in these negotiations now with the business for the last 16 months, there’s been plenty of negotiating back and forward,” McFarlane told The Independent. “In that timeframe we haven’t had a pay raise from 2023, so this negotiation is for 2024/2025 and the members just aren’t happy with the offer that the business has presented to them and the offers throughout that negotiations that have been presented to them.”
The company, for its part, claims its offer was “more than fair and reasonable” and insists it remains “committed to constructive dialogue with the union and its representatives to reach a resolution that supports the long-term competitiveness of the packaging site and the interests of our people.” Diageo also points to its respect for employees’ right to industrial action and its desire to find a solution that works for all parties involved.
For now, Guinness drinkers can breathe a sigh of relief—Christmas pints are safe. But as the dispute stretches on and St Patrick’s Day looms, the resolution of this pay row will be closely watched, not just by workers and management, but by fans of the black stuff on both sides of the Atlantic. The stakes are high, and the coming weeks may prove decisive in shaping the future of labor relations at one of the world’s most beloved breweries.
