Unite for fair tips

The Labour Party Conference is a huge boon for Liverpool’s economy – last year, 18,000 visitors descended on the city over the five days of the conference, generating an estimated £29m in economic benefit.

With Labour being in government for the first time in over a decade, the economic boost has surely been even bigger for the city this week. Hotels, bars, restaurants and other hospitality venues are set to benefit the most, but how much of this will be shared with workers themselves?

With Liverpool’s venues heaving with customers this week, Unite North West saw a perfect opportunity to promote the union’s Fair Pay, Fair Tips campaign. A key part of the campaign is spreading the word that the law on tips will soon be changing. From October 1, tips and service charges must go to workers, without any deductions.

UniteLive caught up with Unite North West regional officers Helen Flanagan and Jamie Bramwell, who had braved the relentless rain to give Unite Hospitality’s latest campaign a big push handing out leaflets.

“We chose to target the Labour Party Conference in particular because it’s very busy for one,” Helen explained. “But we’re also here because there are hundreds of hospitality workers working at the conference centre, some of whom are Unite members, but many who aren’t in a union at all.”

The pocket-sized leaflets outline the key elements of the new tips legislation which goes into effect next week, including that workers must keep all tips and service charges; that tips must be shared fairly and transparently; and that workers must receive their tips without delay by the end of the following month.

The leaflets also feature a QR code so that workers can join Unite Hospitality and find out more about the sector’s wins for members. Workers can also contact the union if they believe they are not receiving their fair share of tips.

In addition to leafletting delegates, Helen and Jamie spread the word at bars and restaurants in the Albert Dock near the conference centre.

“We had an excellent response,” Helen said. “When you first approach people with leaflets, they’re often initially sceptical. But when we explained that this is about your tips, your money, they’re interested and engaged.”

Helen reported that while some workers they spoke to knew about the new tips law, the majority didn’t. She noted that many were enthusiastic about taking stacks of leaflets to distribute to colleagues and other hospitality workers they knew. One worker said he’d previously ordered leaflets online to share with colleagues, and he had since joined Unite.

Jamie emphasised that even though awareness around tips was an important aspect of the campaign, he saw it as only the start of a wider conversation.

“There are a number of issues facing hospitality workers today, of which tips is a vital part because wages are so low,” he told UniteLive. Both Jamie and Helen said these issues included long working hours, unpaid hours, health and safety concerns, bullying and sexual harassment, among others.

“The only way we’ll tackle these issues from a trade union perspective is through collectively organising our workplaces,” he added.

Helen agreed, and highlighted that this week’s activity was only a snapshot of the hospitality campaigning now underway in Liverpool, Manchester and the wider North West.

“Liverpool is a big target of the campaign because obviously it’s a tourist destination, and it also has a large student population, many of whom work in the hospitality sector. Many concerts and conferences come to Liverpool, too. But we’ll be targeting cities and towns across the region, anywhere where there are hospitality venues. Our plan is to get as many people to sign up as possible.”

This includes not only hospitality workers, but customers as well.

“We as customers – as people who give tips – need to know and demand that employers are doing the right thing; that they’re following the law,” Jamie said. “We all have a part to play.”

Helen noted that anyone — workers and customers, Unite members and non-members alike — can order leaflets to distribute next time they’re on shift or a night out.

“Keep yourself informed of the changes, and use the QR code to find out more,” she said. “But above all, join the union – there’s no better way to protect and improve your tips, your pay, your terms and conditions than by joining Unite.”

Unite lead hospitality organiser Bryan Simpson hailed Unite North West’s work on the tips campaign, noting that local activists had taken “the message of fair tips to the workers of Liverpool and also to the Labour Party government.”

“Finally, after 10 years of Unite lobbying for legislation, we have a law that will obligate employers to hand over 100% of tips. Still, this is not enough to ensure fair tips for the workers who need them the most,” he noted. 

Bryan added that this was why Unite had launched its national organising campaign – “to support workers to win 100% of their tips, fairly distributed according to a transparent policy which is democratically determined by the workforce”.

“We need the Labour government to put its money where its mouth is when it comes to fair tips – to support these workers with a stronger Code of Practice which reinforces the statute by giving workers the right to democratically determine how their tips are distributed through elected TRONC Masters/Committees.” 

Find out more about the campaign on Unite Hospitality’s webpage here.

By Hajera Blagg