workers at a Scottish glass plant are going on strike after turning down a 5.5% wage rise.

Production staff at the Ardagh site in Irvine, North Ayrshire, which makes millions of bottles every year for the wine and spirits industry, want more money and have voted to stage two 24-hour stoppages.

The pay row has been brewing for months, despite management and union negotiators attempting to broker a deal by involving arbitrators at Acas.

Ardagh chiefs have upped their offer in recent weeks but the proposed 5.5% two-year deal has been overwhelmingly rejected by workers at Irvine and three other sister sites in England.

The glass division is part of the Ardagh Group, a global packaging conglomerate and is the world's biggest producer of aerosol cans.

The Irvine workforce of around 250 and colleagues in England have agreed to take industrial action next week.

There will be an overtime ban, with some shifts going on strike on Monday, with the rest of the workforce taking action on Saturday.

Unite official Tas Sangha said management had refused to increase the 5.5% offer.

He said: "This is a highly profitable company which could well afford to be more generous at a time when inflation is eroding our members' take home pay and household bills, such as food and energy, continue to soar.

"Furthermore, employees at two of the Ardagh Group's glass companies in Europe have received bigger increases than that being offered to our members in the UK."

An Ardagh spokesman said bosses had invested tens of millions of pounds in its glass division to protect existing jobs and create new ones.

He claimed: "Combining Ardagh's pay awards of 2011 and 2012 with this year's offer for a two-year deal, represents a total increase of 14.2% over four years."

The spokesman added: "We remain open to entering into binding arbitration talks at any time in order to reach an agreement. In the meantime, we are committed to maintaining supply to our customers and are continuing to develop plans to do so."

Ardagh Glass employs around 1300 workers across its sites at Irvine, Barnsley, Doncaster and Knottingley in Yorkshire, with Unite claiming the division is projected to make pre-tax profits of £69 million this year.

The company claims to have ploughed £63.5m into the business.

The Irvine site also produces bottles for major whisky and vodka brands. Management are finalising contingency plans ahead of next week's strikes and have assured customers there are enough stocks to maintain supplies during the dispute.

gordon.thomson@ eveningtimes.co.uk