Renewed strike action to take place at Encirc plant

By Oliver Catchpole

Published: 29 April, 2026

Over 100 workers at bottle manufacturer and filler Encirc's Elton plant are planning to stage further strikes (from 3-15 May and 1-15 June), after previous action finished yesterday (28 April).

Unite members had been striking (from 28-30 March and 3-7 April) over redundancies made by the company, as Harpers reported. Workers also walked out on their night shifts from 16-28 April.

The union said that bottle supply issues should be expected this summer due to the strikes.

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However, when previously approached for comment by Harpers, Encirc said that “there will certainly not be any bottle shortages. We will mitigate against any consequence this action will have, and do not anticipate any impact to our supply chain”.

Encirc manufactures and fills glass bottles for several large alcohol brands, including Jameson, Baileys, Budweiser and Coors, in addition to supermarket branded wine.

Commenting on the strike, Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “These workers, who do a specialised and skilled job, have been left in an unacceptable situation due to redundancies made by their profitable employer.

"Our members deserve better than Encirc choosing to prioritise greed and they continue to have Unite's full support throughout this dispute.”

The union stressed that redundancies came despite Encirc being “highly profitable”, with its parent company Vidrala recently reporting net profits over £192m for 2025.

It added that the reduction in headcount has left staff “physically and mentally drained by their workloads” which has led to safety concerns.

However, Encirc said that the changes it has implemented stand it “in good stead to tackle a difficult economic climate head on, with an efficient and strong business foundation”, adding that it remains “open to dialogue with the union”.

Image Credit – Melvyn Swingler on Unsplash

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