Four-year deal agreed in Chivas pay dispute

Chivas Brothers plans to invest £40m in a new facility at its Kilmalid site in Dumbarton

A deal has been agreed to end a dispute over pay at whisky bottling plants in Dumbarton and Paisley.

Workers at the Chivas Brothers Kilmalid site in Dumbarton were due to take strike action earlier this month but it was suspended for more talks.

Chivas said agreement had now been reached and a pay deal was now in place until 2020.

BBC Scotland understands workers will receive a 1.9% increase in the first year, backdated to January.

The deal includes a guaranteed minimum increase in subsequent years and harmonisation of pay between the Dumbarton and Paisley sites.

Operations in Paisley are to be closed by 2019 with workers offered jobs in Dumbarton where the firm is investing £40m in a new facility.

A spokeswoman for Unite said: "Following talks and a mass meeting, both sides have come to an amicable agreement."

Laurent Lacassagne, chairman and chief executive at Chivas Brothers said: "The decision follows a period of open and transparent negotiation over these past few weeks.

"We're happy that by working together we have achieved a successful resolution and that we now have a joint agreement on pay that will take us through to 2020."