Historic hospitality strike
Unite members protest outside Glasgow Village Hotel
Reading time: 3 min
Unite members and supporters came out in their droves yesterday (3 August) in a public demonstration of solidarity outside the Village Hotel in Glasgow.
The Village Hotel is one of the city’s major hotels, and has been rocked by all-out strike action that started this weekend following Unite members returning an overwhelming mandate for industrial action. On 15 July ballot results showed that 100 per cent voted yes to strike action on an 81 per cent turnout.
Unite understands that the industrial action will be the first strike at a major hotel since the chambermaids went out at Grosvenor House Hotel, London in 1979.
The dispute is over three issues:
- The real living wage of £12.60 – most workers are paid National Minimum Wage.
- Equal pay – younger workers paid as little as £10.
- Failure to pay for breaks.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham. “Unite will have the back of our Village Glasgow hotel workers as they begin historic strike action. At the heart of this dispute is a fight over decent pay and working conditions.
“This is a wealthy company which is short-changing its hardworking staff. Unite will support these workers 100 per cent every step in their fight.’
Workers at Village Glasgow have already won a backdated pay rise after it was discovered by Unite reps that there had been a significant wage disparity that disproportionately affected young women, as well as backdated pay for unpaid training over a period of up to two years.
On 24 June 2024, Village Hotels was bought-over by Blackstone – “the world’s largest asset manager” with more than $1trillion in assets. In the same week, they told the workers that they couldn’t afford a 39p pay rise as they spent £83m on new hotels and refurbishments.
Bryan Simpson, national lead for Unite’s hospitality sector said: “Our members at Village Hotels are taking this landmark industrial action because they are sick and tired of unpaid breaks and poverty pay which discriminates based on age.
“The owners of Village Hotels have more than enough money to pay these workers what they deserve. If they want to stop the first strike at a major hotel in over 45 years, they should get round the table and negotiate with Unite and its members.”
Below are just some photographs from the demonstration outside the Village Hotel.
By Keith Hatch
Photos by Craig MacLean and Ryan Tobias
