Guinness strike suspended

The strike that halted Guinness production in Ireland for the first time in more than 25 years has been suspended.

The move comes after day-long talks involving the Irish Labour Relations Commission.

The strike was called off after brewery managers opted to defer the closure of a packaging plant at Dundalk, Co Louth, that had been due at the end of the month, with the loss of nearly 150 jobs.

The closure issue will now be discussed at further talks in Dublin next week.

After the stoppage suspension agreement, five of the six trade unions at Guinness ordered the lifting of pickets at premises in Dundalk, Dublin, Waterford and Kilkenny.

The opening day of the strike had earlier led to a fall in the price of shares in the Diageo group, the owners of Guinness.