A Buzzed Atmosphere

Poor wages and not enough vacation time anger most workers. But a limit to on the job drinking is grounds for a strike.

For the second day, work has been halted at the Danish brewer Carlsberg. The strike came after the company decided to limit beer drinking to lunch breaks. Jans Bekke, a company spokesman says until recently there was free beer, water and soda everywhere. But late last week beer was removed from all company refrigerators and now employees are only able to get their buzz from the canteen during lunch. Bekke says the only exceptions are drivers who retained an old right to three beers per day outside of their lunch hour. Warehouse workers are now trying to claim the same right. Bekke says about 250 workers are still on strike and while the financial impact will be small, there will be delays in shipments all across Denmark. He added that all delivery trucks have locks so drivers wouldn’t be able to drink excessively and drive. When it comes to our working conditions we all have our priorities but at least this one doesn’t come from taxpayer pockets.