A Scots whisky bottling plant will restart production next week - despite the coronavirus lockdown.
The Edrington facility in Glasgow will again begin work after it was on March 25 by bosses amid the coronavirus outbreak.
Unions have reacted angrily to the news and called for the Scottish Government to step in and shut down the whole industry.
It is understood other whisky facilities in Scotland will also reopen this week while many have not closed during the crisis.
A survey carried out this week by the GMB union found more than 90% wanted all distileries closed- arguing the product often doesn;t hit shop shelves for a decade or more.
But some plants have turned production to hand sanitiser.
GMB Scotland organiser Keir Greenaway said: “The industry’s failure to do the right thing and the weakness of the Scottish Government... means health and safety of thousands of workers and their families across Scotland will be massively compromised.
“Workers are anxious and scared.
“The industry’s refusal to prioritise the health of workers over their corporate profits is a sad indictment of where we are at as an economy - a massive "two fingers" up to their workforce, the Scottish Government and the public."
A small team will return to the bottling plant next week- although it is understood they are made up of volunteers.
A company spokeswoman said: “After consulting with local trade union colleagues, we are preparing a controlled restart of operations at our Great Western Road bottling hall, Glasgow and Spirit Supply in Speyside, starting with a reduced team to bottle and ship products. This will help us to deliver to markets that are starting to recover and, by doing that, sustain our business and help safeguard employment during this challenging time. Scottish distilling operations will remain closed for at least three months.
“Edrington is producing hand sanitiser at our Glasgow site for our own use and for the local community and is providing alcohol for production by others through our joint venture North British Distillery.
“Our start-up teams will be made up of those with no underlying health issues individually or within their household, and don’t rely on public transport. Although we already go beyond government guidelines, we have introduced new enhanced social distancing and hygiene measures as part of our restart plan to ensure the health and safety of our people.
“The reason for our suspension of operations on 25 March was to allow us to get clarity on advice from both the UK and Scottish Governments, which we now have.”
A Scottish Government spokesman said: “We have published guidance which makes clear that businesses can only continue to operate if they can, by working together with staff and unions, established ways to keep their employees safe, both in travelling to work and at work.
“We are aware that some distillers are engaging in gearing up to produce alcohol for hand sanitisers, which is clearly essential, and other staff play an important role on care and maintenance of workplaces which can’t be closed completely.”
A spokesman for the Scotch Whisky Association trade body said: "“The UK government has also made clear that food and drink production, including alcohol, are essential services and that manufacturing should continue where appropriate safety and social distancing protocols can be put in place in order to re-stock supermarkets and off-licences that remain open during the crisis.
“The measures that the industry has put in place to protect our staff have been devised and delivered in partnership with our employees and union representatives. We have invited the Scottish Government to visit sites, in person or virtually, to audit these measures and we would welcome their feedback.
“This is not business as usual. For companies, large and small, which continue to operate, this is not about profit but about ensuring businesses can be in a position to contribute to Scotland’s economic recovery.
“In addition, over the next two months the industry is providing around 12 million litres of ethanol for the production of around 50 million bottles of hand sanitiser for use by frontline health services. This is in addition to the hand sanitiser that many distilleries are producing to support local communities, from local care homes and Councils, which is in very high demand.”
