Latest news with #JohnSweeney
Scottish Sun
19-06-2025
- Business
- Scottish Sun
Shoppers warned of ‘substantial' shortages of staple summer drink on supermarket shelves from today
Keep reading to find out how you can save money buying alcohol DRY SUMMER Shoppers warned of 'substantial' shortages of staple summer drink on supermarket shelves from today Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) SHOPPERS have been warned there will be "substantial" shortages of a classic summer drink from TODAY. Brits were devastated to learn they could find empty wine shelves in supermarkets up and down the country. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 1 Wine shelves are set to look a little bare this summer Credit: Getty Bottles have disappeared rapidly after a popular wine supplier announced its workers are going on strike. Staff at Encirc, a Bristol based warehouse that holds 18 of the most drank wine brands in the UK, kicked off the 16-day walk out today. Around 2000 employees at the site, in Avonmouth, revealed they will carry out the industrial action from June 19 to July 5. Unit members are going on strike over a pay dispute, as reported by the Express, after already being offered a 3.2 per cent wage increase. A union spokesperson claimed workers are not paid properly despite the "very profitable company" Encirc turning over £600million. It will see key figures in bottling, packaging and distribution, walk out on different dates - as well as a 12 week overtime ban. Experts have claimed the strike could see a "significant" shortage of wines at UK supermarkets. Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: "Encirc's meanness to its workers is all about greed and not need. "This is a very lucrative company that can fully afford to pay its workers properly but it is choosing not to. "Unite will not stand idly by and allow Encric to steal our members hard won rights. Five Lidl rosés you need this summer, according to a wine expert - a £6.99 buy is as light & crispy as £22 Whispering Angel "Encirc workers deserve better and they have Unite's full support throughout this dispute." Unite regional officer John Sweeney added: "There is no doubt that this action will hit supermarket shelves. "While shortages may be frustrating for customers looking to enjoy a bottle of wine this summer, the situation is entirely of Encirc's own making. "Management has constantly refused to engage meaningfully. Encirc needs to return to the negotiating table with a vastly improved offer." Encirc said it is 'open to dialogue with the union in good faith.' This comes as beer fans are going bananas over this summer beverage accessory that has been branded a "great product." The product is currently on sale for nearly half the price and can arrive at your home in time for the weekend. And, Sun reporter Helen Nicklin has tested a range of supermarket summer cocktails in a can. The winner was a Pimm's mix - which was £10 cheaper than the new Aperol Spritz. Shoppers can now pick up the 200ml bottles in packs of four at specific supermarkets – taking all the hassle out of cocktail making. And it is not the only big-name tipple that has been canned for your convenience. Here, drinks expert Helena sips and scores a selection of pre-mixed cocktails. Plus, Morrisons shoppers have raised a glass this week as the industry giant rolls out brand-new cocktails for just £1.50 per drink – and they're perfect for summer BBQs. The budget-friendly booze is part of an exclusive tie-up with premium cocktail brand The Drinks Bureau, bringing a taste of the bar straight to your garden party. Available now in over 280 Morrisons stores across the UK, the 1.5-litre cocktail boxes are priced at £15 each – or just £12 with a More Card. That works out at as little as £1.20 per serving, offering premium drinks at pocket-friendly prices. Each box contains ten ready-to-drink servings and includes a tap-style spout for easy pouring, making it an ideal option for hassle-free entertaining. It's also the first time shoppers can get premium 'on tap' cocktails from a UK supermarket – a format that's proven popular in bars and pubs.
Daily Record
19-06-2025
- Business
- Daily Record
Brits warned of wine shortage as UK bottling factory plans strike this summer
Workers from Encirc site in Bristol, who supply wine to all major UK supermarkets, are set to strike between June 19 and July 5. Those who love a glass of wine at home may be in for some bleak news. Brits are being warned that wine shelves in supermarkets may be left empty this summer due to worker strike action at a UK bottling company. From June 19 until July 5, over 200 Unite members who work in the Encirc site in Avonmouth, Bristol, are planning to strike over pay. As a result, this will have a major impact on production, which will see less bottles of wine on our supermarket shelves. Members involved in the strike are workers from across the factory, with some distributing the alcohol from the site, while others are tasked with bottling and packaging red, rose and white wine. With wine the most popular alcoholic drink in the UK, according to the Mirror, Encirc supplies plonk to all major supermarkets in the country. With a turnover of over £600million, Unite says that Encirc is a "very profitable company" as it supplies a variation of wine packaging, including boxes, bags and bottles. According to Unite, the firm only offered their workers a 3.2 per cent pay rise. This was done without negotiating with Unite and the firm has gone on to repeatedly state that it will only be giving pay rises that are tied to inflation from now on. Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: "Encirc's meanness to its workers is all about greed and not need. This is a very lucrative company that can fully afford to pay its workers properly but it is choosing not to. "Unite will not stand idly by and allow Encric to steal our members hard won rights. Encirc workers deserve better and they have Unite's full support throughout this dispute." Workers from different areas of the business are set to take strike action on different dates and times from June 19 to July 5. This action will have a big impact on production schedules, with the union also saying that a 12-week overtime ban is set to take place. Unite regional officer John Sweeney said: "There is no doubt that this action will hit supermarket shelves. While shortages may be frustrating for customers looking to enjoy a bottle of wine this summer, the situation is entirely of Encirc's own making. "Management has constantly refused to engage meaningfully. Encirc needs to return to the negotiating table with a vastly improved offer." Elsewhere, other forms of strike action are set to take place this summer, with workers from Edinburgh and Glasgow Airports threatening to walk out, which will cause major travel disruption for holiday goers. This is due to workers rejecting "unacceptable" pay offers from their employer Menzies Aviation. From around 300 workers at Glasgow Airport, an astounding 97 per cent voted to reject the proposed deals, with 100 per cent of a similar number of workers at Edinburgh Airport doing the same. Unless Menzies Aviation can present a better offer, the union warns it will be forced to ballot members for strike action, in turn causing havoc for summer travel. Unite industrial officer Carrie Binnie said: "Summer strike action looms over Edinburgh and Glasgow airports because the pay offers on the table from Menzies Aviation aren't good enough." Join the Daily Record WhatsApp community!
Daily Mirror
18-06-2025
- Business
- Daily Mirror
Wine shortage to hit UK this summer as all major supermarkets could be affected
Over 200 Unite members at the Encirc site in Avonmouth, Bristol, are set to strike between June 19 and July 5 - with the company supplying all UK major supermarkets with wine Brits have been warned supermarket shelves could be left empty of wine this summer, as factory workers at a major bottling company are planning to strike. Over 200 Unite members at the Encirc site in Avonmouth, Bristol, are set to strike over pay and collective bargaining between June 19 and July 5. Members at the factory work across different areas, including bottling and packaging red, white, rose and sparkling wine and distributing it from warehouses. The company supplies all the major supermarkets with wine, which is the most popular alcoholic drink in the UK. According to Unite, Encirc is a "very profitable company" with a turnover of over £600million, supplying all the big supermarkets with bottles, box and bags of wine. Unite says the firm has only offered its workers a 3.2 per cent pay rise without negotiating with Unite and has now repeatedly stated from now on it will only give pay rises tied to inflation. Unite says this effectively means removing Unite's collective bargaining rights, as any pay increases will be set by Encirc without negotiations before being imposed on workers. Previously, the union had been able to negotiate with management on pay. Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: "Encirc's meanness to its workers is all about greed and not need. This is a very lucrative company that can fully afford to pay its workers properly but it is choosing not to. "Unite will not stand idly by and allow Encric to steal our members hard won rights. Encirc workers deserve better and they have Unite's full support throughout this dispute." Strikes will take place between June 19 and 5 July - with workers in different parts of the business taking strike action on different dates and times according to production schedules to have the biggest impact. There will also be a 12-week overtime ban as part of the action, the union said. Unite regional officer John Sweeney said: "There is no doubt that this action will hit supermarket shelves. While shortages may be frustrating for customers looking to enjoy a bottle of wine this summer, the situation is entirely of Encirc's own making. "Management has constantly refused to engage meaningfully. Encirc needs to return to the negotiating table with a vastly improved offer."
BBC News
18-06-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Encirc strike at Bristol wine bottling firm 'could risk supplies'
More than 200 workers at a glass filling and distribution company are to go on strike in a dispute over employees of Encirc helped to bottle wines and supplied most major supermarkets. The union Unite said there was "no doubt" the move would affect supplies across the company has offered its workers a 3.2% pay rise and wanted to link further increases to inflation. Unite claimed the firm did not negotiate the rise with them, and had therefore removed its collective bargaining said it was "disappointed" by the action and added that if the rise was accepted, it would mean the firm had increased wages by 16% in less than two years. 'Hard won rights' The union said its strikes would take place between 19 June and 5 July, with a 12-week overtime ban as part of the Graham, Unite general secretary, said: "Encirc's meanness to its workers is all about greed and not need."This is a very lucrative company that can fully afford to pay its workers properly but it is choosing not to."Unite will not stand idly by and allow Encric to steal our members' hard won rights."Encirc workers deserve better and they have Unite's full support throughout this dispute."Workers, Unite said, would also take staggered action across the business with some taking action on different days to Sweeney, Unite regional officer, said: "There is no doubt that this action will hit supermarket shelves."While shortages may be frustrating for customers looking to enjoy a bottle of wine this summer, the situation is entirely of Encirc's own making."Management has constantly refused to engage meaningfully."Encirc needs to return to the negotiating table with a vastly improved offer." 'Mitigate impact' A spokesperson for Encirc said: "Our final offer includes a cost-of-living increase and pension contribution improvements."As a company we are resolute in our efforts to remain competitive whilst doing the best for our people, and we firmly believe that our offer was fair and proportionate."As such, at a time when we are already facing so many challenges, and need certainty for our customer base, this really is unexpected."Nevertheless, we will mitigate any impact this action could have, and we remain open to dialogue with the union in good faith."
Irish Daily Mirror
05-06-2025
- Irish Daily Mirror
Man caught with haul of child abuse and anime images narrowly avoids jail
A Co Donegal man caught with a haul of child sex abuse and anime images on a computer hard-drive at his home has avoided going to jail. John Sweeney, 60, appeared at Letterkenny Circuit Court where he pleaded guilty to possession of the images when his house at Dore, Bunbeg was raided by Gardai on July 24, 2019. Detective Garda Enda Jennings and Michelle Kelly were acting on information forwarded by the Garda National Protective Services Bureau. It followed information they received that a user had uploaded child pornography from an Eircom internet account. The account was traced to John Sweeney whose Eircom account had been activated on April 11, 2014. Gardai visited the house and seized three mobile phones as well as a hard-drive. All the images including a total of 139 child abuse images and 94 anime images were found on the computer hard-drive. Sweeney was arrested, taken to Milford Garda Station and made full admissions. Detective Garda Enda Jennings told the court that the accused man had cooperated and told Gardai he had been going through a difficult time and was drinking heavily at the time. The court was further told that Sweeney lived alone at the address and had no previous convictions. Barrister for the accused, Ms Patricia McLaughlin, SC, said her client had given all his PIN numbers to Gardai and had cooperated fully and made admissions at the scene. However, because of a backlog in investigating such cases around the country at the time, it wasn't until November 2023 that a plea could be made. A number of the One in Four counselling service was given to Sweeney and he went about getting counselling during that time. Ms McLaughlin said it was not the case that her client shared any of the images and had no great sophisticated knowledge of computers but was accessing adult pornography over a period of time. Child pornography then began to pop up and the accused man then developed some curiosity on this, Ms McLaughlin added. Sweeney had been in a relationship for several years but this ended and he began to drink and this led to a deterioration in his mental health. He had been diagnosed with cancer in 2015 but had recovered from this and he had a good work history up until this and had no previous convictions. A probation report dated May 29, 2025, said Sweeney was of a low risk of reoffending but there were some concerns for him because of his isolation and that he has limited support within the community. The report said Sweeney had been spending hours online going down a rabbit hole of adult pornography and then further material at a time when he was leading a chaotic lifestyle, suffering from emotional distress and abusing alcohol. However, the probation service also noted that he has expressed remorse and is aware that the images are wrong and was happy to go under the supervision of the probation services. Community service was not recommended for Sweeney because of his medical issues but he continues to go down the path of counselling, the probation report added. Ms McLaughlin added that Sweeney is a man of previous good character who has had the offence hanging over him for the past five years, that he lives in a small, local community and that he has taken steps towards rehabilitation. She asked Judge John Aylmer to consider dealing with the offence by way of a non-custodial sentence considering the overall amount of images, the amount of time the accused man had the images in his possession which was estimated to be two months and how he came upon the images. She said her client had had an "unsophisticated fall into child porn." Judge Aylmer said that on the very early plea and the number of images involved, he placed the offence at the lower end of the scale and one which merited a sentence of two years before mitigation. In mitigation, the Judge said Sweeney had no previous convictions, had cooperated fully with Gardai and had entered an early plea. He also noted that five years had elapsed since his arrest and appearing in court, that the case had been hanging over Sweeney, that he had availed of rehab and that he was assessed as being of a low risk of reoffending. For all of these factors as well as his remorse and shame, Judge Aylmer reduced the sentence to one of 18 months in prison. He added that the question then arises that if the court might suspend all or part of that sentence and that he accepted the advance by Sweeney's barrister, Ms McLaughlin, that there were similarities to another case, the McGinty case. Ms McLaughlin said that it was similar in many ways to the McGinty case because of the cooperation, the lack of previous convictions, the low risk of reoffending, the engagement in rehab as well as the fact that the case has hung over the accused for so long. Judge Aylmer agreed that this was one of those unusual cases where the court can suspend the entirety of the 18 months sentence and ordered Sweeney to go under the supervision of the probation services.
