UK facing World Cup beer shortage

Football fans are facing the prospect of a World Cup beer shortage after workers at a firm that makes 40 per cent of deliveries announced five days of strike action.

About 1,000 delivery workers at GXO Logistics plan to stage a first round of strikes between October 31 and November 4 at depots across the UK ahead of the World Cup in Qatar which runs from November 20 until December 18. There will also be a ban on overtime working from October 24.

The Unite union said that the strike would “impede the ability of pubs and other venues to replenish their cellars prior to the World Cup” and that further action was planned if the dispute is not resolved.

The strikes would be expected to impact on pubs and venues supplied by brewers which include Heineken, Stonegate, Admiral Taverns and Shepherd Neame.

Fans who are travelling to Qatar for the World Cup can already only drink alcohol in specific locations in Doha, such as fan zones, stadiums and certain licenced hotels or cruise ships, but often only then at particular times in the day.

Beer sales typically surge during any major football tournament, with estimates for the Euro 2021 final last year between England and Italy ranging from between nine and 13 million extra pints

A pay offer, which was reported to include a reduction in sick pay, has been rejected. “GXO can easily afford to pay and Unite is determined to see that they do,” said Sharon Graham, the union’s general secretary.

A spokesperson for GXO said that the offer was “significantly above” five per cent and did not impact sick pay. It also said that it had plans in place to minimise any impact on customers in the event of a strike.

GXO Logistics delivers to more than 4,000 pubs across south-east England and has 22 depots between Inverness in Scotland to Southampton on the south coast of England.

The company reported revenues of £690m from its UK operations for the three months to the end of June, with total adjusted profits of more than £150m in the second quarter.