Pubs could be facing beer shortages from next week as delivery drivers prepare to go on strike.

Draymen attached to the Unite union have voted to take industrial action over a pay dispute, with officials warning it could lead to pumps running dry this summer.

The workers, who deliver products from major brands like Heineken to bars across the country, have rejected a ‘paltry’ wage offer from GXO Logistics Drinks.

Members almost unanimously backed strike action after being offered a 1.4% pay rise despite many having lost income during the pandemic. 

The company operates 26 delivery sites and is responsible for 40% of all the beer deliveries across the UK.

According to the firm, talks are ongoing to try and avoid disruption to the hospitality sector as it reopens after months of restrictions. The union wants a pay settlement closer to the rate of inflation.

Two 24 hour strikes are scheduled, the first starting at 10am on August 24 and then again at 10am on September 2.

Members are also instructed to refuse overtime and will ‘work to rule’ – effectively do bare minimum to reduce productivity – between August 24 and November 15.

Unite national officer for the drinks industry Joe Clarke said draymen had been working ‘flat out’ to meet ‘high demand for beer volumes in our pubs as society continues to reopen’

The official warned: ‘The threat of a late summer beer drought now increases for Britain’s thirsty beer drinkers as our members make 40 per cent of the beer deliveries in the country.’

A GXO spokesperson said: ‘We favour dialogue in all our negotiations. Discussions are ongoing in order to reach agreement, in particular for the hospitality sector that is only now emerging from the impact of the Covid-19 lockdown.’

The industrial action comes at a time when the hospitality sector is already feeling the effects of a HGV driver shortage impacting several areas of the economy.

A combination of visa changes following Brexit and Covid-19 travel restrictions has resulted in a drop in the number of people working in the industry.

In response, the government has relaxed regulations around the amount of hours drivers are allowed to be on the road in order to cope with a surge in demand following the easing of restrictions.

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