Workers at Chivas have voted to strike in a dispute over pay rates, following the breakdown of talks with conciliation service ACAS.

A ballot of workers at the Kilmalid site in Dumbarton saw 90.8 per cent of workers vote in favour of industrial action over the issue, with 98.5 per cent voting for action short of a strike.

Meanwhile, workers at the Paisley site - which is also affected by the pay offer - voted by 76.4 per cent for strike action, and 81.9 per cent for action short of a strike.

The pay battle between Unite the Union and Chivas follows an offer by the company in March this year of a 1.5 per cent increase, backdated to July 2016, with three more years of rises, which the union claims barely keeps up with inflation and could see workers lose money.

The offer was roundly rejected by the company’s staff, with the disputed offer arriving on the back of an announcement in November last year that the company’s Paisley site would close.

All staff and operations are being moved to the Kilmalid site.

Unite regional coordinating officer Elaine Dougall said: “We believe our claim for a decent pay increase and harmonisation of pay between sites was both reasonable and affordable.

“The fact that the company first refused to improve its initial offer, were then forced to talks at Acas and then brought nothing new to the table shows what little respect the company has for the rules of negotiation.

“We are also disappointed that the company has failed to recognise the contribution our members make towards the successful brand that Chivas is today, by awarding a pay increase that reflects that.

“Unite deals with many companies on a daily basis. The ones that respect their workforce and rewards them fairly reap the benefits of that relationship. Those that don’t seem hell bent on confrontation. But so be it.

“However we would remind Chivas that the door remains open for an eleventh hour reprieve from this action.

"We would say to Chivas management, come back to the table with an offer that is fair and reflects the hard work and commitment of our members and this action can be halted.”

A Chivas Brothers spokeswoman said: “We’re disappointed that trade union members have taken the decision to strike.

"After a period of constructive and transparent negotiation with employee representatives, we have made several significant improvements and firmly believe our pay offer – which exceeds the rate of inflation in the UK – is fair and reasonable and ensures that our employees have a highly competitive salary and benefits package.”