The High Court today continued an injunction prohibiting picketing of the Guinness brewery in James Gate, Dublin until next Monday. Meanwhile, Irish Distillers has also secured a High Court injunction to prevent picketing at its factory in Midleton, Co Cork.
On Monday, Diageo Ireland had obtained a temporary injunction against a named picketer and against anyone with notice of the injunction. Today, Ms Justice Mary Laffoy continued the injunction until next Monday.
Diageo claims the picketing outside its premises is unlawful because no notice of industrial action had been served on it by the electricians' union, the TEEU.
It claims brewing has already ceased and steps have had to be taken to make the beer within the process safe. If picketing continued and the brewing process does not start up within a very short time the yeast will have 'died' within four days. If that occurs it will take between 21 and 28 days to resume full output, Diageo says.
The company says the supply of Guinness would be restricted almost immediately because it would need to conserve the stocks if the picket continues. It was also likely the company would have to lay off a significant number of its 220 employees.
'Real risk' to supply - Irish Distillers
Irish Distillers has secured a High Court injunction to prevent picketing by striking electricians of its factory at Midleton, Co Cork.
The court was told that pickets were placed at the entrance to the factory, which produces Jameson and Powers Irish Whiskey, on Monday by five people who are not employees of Irish Distillers.
As a result five staff left the premises and were refusing to pass the picket. The court was told that these staff, two electricians and three fitters, were responsible for ensuring the security and safety of more than 80 million litres of a highly flammable liquid in storage at the factory.
The company was told that those picketing were employees of Suir Electrical, which Irish Distillers says is not and has never been engaged by it.
The company was told that the TEEU was also in dispute with another electrical company, Shanley Electrical, which had provided services to Irish Distillers on occasion but was not on site at the time of the pickets.
Irish Distillers said there was a real risk that the number of staff refusing to pass the pickets could increase in the coming days, posing a real risk to the company's supply chain and in particular its bottling and distribution operations. There was also a risk that staff would have to be put on protective notice.
Ms Justice Mary Laffoy granted the injunction until Friday, saying there was an arguable case that the pickets were unlawful given that there was no dispute with Irish Distillers.
