IRN BRU workers are striking for a share of bumper profits made by owner AG Barr as the company faces allegations of illegal strike-breaking.

The makers of Scotland’s iconic soft drink reported that profits had rocketed by 12.6 per cent, with the firm raking in £27.8 million in the last six months alone, yet it has imposed a sub-inflation 5 per cent pay rise on its workforce.

Trunker and shunter drivers, the only unionised part of the AG Barr workforce, have launched an overtime ban and a series of one-day strikes, backed by the Unite union, to fight for a fairer deal.

Unite say that its members are only delivering 30 per cent of what they normally would, but the union has raised concerns, and an official complaint to the Department for Business and Trade, that agency workers are being used to break the action.

Industrial officer Andy Brown told the Star: “The employer seems more interested spending thousands of pounds per week to break this strike than to settle it.

“We have continued to meet with the company, we’ve put counteroffers on the table, offered to go to Acas, but their negotiators have been told from their CEO that they will not go above 5 per cent.

“This is a company whose profits have gone through the roof.

“Their profits have grown by millions over the last six months alone, but we know it would only take £10,000 to settle this dispute.

“When you compare that to what people like the CEO are paying themselves, its just ridiculous.”

An AG Barr spokesperson said: “We are committed to continuing to work with our trunker and shunter drivers and their trade union representatives to find a positive and constructive resolution.

“We have contingency plans in place to maintain customer service.”